Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The acronyms are noted because you won't find the translations for these names in standard online translators or even most German dictionaries. (Hans itself is a familiar variant of Johan.). Preu (Preuss) Sachse Others were based on place names: Hans from Nrnberg might be called Hans Nrnberger. Find your German last name and learn about the meaning and origins of different German surnames. For example, your great-grandfather's name could be in Latin on his birth record, in French on his marriage record, and in German on his death record. To get a quick, pictorial view of the growth of the Nation State of Prussia (it was correctly called Knigreich Preuen- Kingdom of Prussia) what follows below is a set of maps show the nations evolution: West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773-1824 and 1878-1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish fiefdom of Royal Prussia. This gazetteer can be helpful in determining which Catholic and Protestant parishes a village belonged toinformation not found in the Meyers Gazetteer. Perhaps, the following explanations and links will help clarify the matter.To begin with you need to be aware that there are, at least, four major categories or groups of people with clear and justifiable claims to being Prussian. Prussian civil registration dates to 1874 in most places, and (for the most part) are kept in the civil registry office (Standesamt) where the event occurred. Should you wish to learn more about Prussia and its history, ManyRoads offers extensive texts as well as maps on Historical Germany and Europe. Derived from the name of the region of Brabant in the Netherlands and Belgium. Some areas of Germany may use diminutive forms of names more than others. Most of them originated in mediaeval towns and villages, and as each one had its Carter, Hayward, Thatcher, Smith, and Tailor there were a multitude of original bearers of the name. Be aware that as people moved, this might change their surname, and it may revert back and forth within the same records. Ill walk you through three steps to tracing your Prussian ancestors. is only allowed with prior ManyRoads' approval, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Deutsche Vertriebenen German Expulsions (History), Flucht und Verteibung Flight & Expulsion (Videos), Dictionnaire Genealogique des Familles Canadiennes- Cyprien Tanguay, Preuen in der Vergangenheit Prussia in the Past (Videos), Robidou Association of North America (Rescue), Genealogy Databases and Immigrant Websites, Immigration from Germany to Eastern Europe (Ostsiedlung), On-line Prussian, Ukrainian, Russian Mennonite Records, 400+ Years of Mennonite-Anabaptist European Emigration, Researching Mennonite Regions of Damals Preuen (former Prussia), Locating German WW1 & WW2 War Casualties & Prisoners, Researching the Eastern European German Diaspora, Jdische Familienforschung (Jewish Genealogy), [] Population Development across Eastern Prussia, To do so, please follow these instructions, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. A team led by German genealogy scholar Roger P. Minert continues to compile the valuable book series German Immigrants in American Church Records (Family Roots Publishing). However, an "attitude adjustment" will help you solve your Prussia problems. There are 251 census records available for the last name Prussian. Some US records may yield the gold standard of immigrant genealogy research: an exact village of origin. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. This is especially true for Westfalen (Westphalia) and Hannover and parts of Rheinland and Schlesien (Silesia). Site Search. From 1772-1829 and 1878-1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. But with the right attitude, dedication, and tools, you can find your ancestors who lived within the limits of the former kingdom. 3. 1938. In November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power. For example: Althaus ("old house") Birnbaum ("pear tree") 2. Because many of the Prussian areas were either destroyed (nearly completely) in the allied bombardments and assaults of WW2 and most Prussian areas were ethnically cleansed of 99+% of all native German speakers between 1945 and 1950, even tiny clues are most important. If his wife inherited a farm, he might change his name to her maiden name. This list is different than one showingpopular German surnameswith their English translations. Extra care needs to be taken to make sure that the correct people are included in the family group and that no one is accidentally overlooked. Count of Family Names in the 1776 Census Count of Family Names in the 1776 Census Compiled by Glenn Penner (gpenner@uoguelph.ca) The following table is a count of how many times each family name, or variation of that name, appears in the 1776 census of Mennonites in West Prussia. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. What follows is a link to a timeline that enumerates Prussias ascendancy. Click. History of German Names. The following online source contains given names translated into 23 different European languages, including English: Many given names have variants and dialectical forms. Bsch 1 German. In 1940, Laborer was the top reported job for people in the USA named Prussian. This list may not reflect recent changes. These names include: Applebaum apple tree; Birnbaum pear tree; Buchsbaum box tree; Kestenbaum chestnut tree; Kirschenbaum cherry tree; Mandelbaum almond tree; Nussbaum nut tree;. 100% of Prussian men worked as a Laborer. Or, at least, a record might identify a Provinz (province; plural is Provinzen) to narrow down the search to a particular area of Prussia. Nicole Marie Skutelnik and Nicole Marie LaCroce met in 2021 and were . As the population increased, it became necessary to distinguish between individuals with the same name. Sebastian = Bastian Christophel = Stophel Christina = Stin or Stina Katharina = Trin Note that these familiar forms are used in church or other records, even though by today's standards we might expect formal names to be used. *We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs. Apply this search to the main name collection, the letters in the pattern are compared to the letters in the name, search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes, this field understands simple boolean logic, force a term to be included by preceding it with a, force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a, sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations, syllables can only be counted in names that have been assigned pronunciations, names without pronunciations are excluded from results. The 10 Most Common German surnames (with English translations) Becker - baker Fischer - fisherman Hoffmann / Hofmann - courtier or steward Meier or Meyer - manorial landlord, or later, a self-employed farmer Mller - miller Schmidt - smith Schneider - tailor Schulz - sheriff (medieval) Wagner - wainwright (maker & repairer of wagons) Weber - weaver Terms such as modo, vulgo, genannt, and alias indicate this naming practice. (For more see Wikipedia). United States (US) Wisconsin (WI) Prairie du Sac/Sumpter Twp. This is a patronymic name derived from the reduced form of the name 'Abraham' that means 'father of a multitude.'. Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland. From 1824-1878, East Prussia was combined with West Prussia to form the Province of Prussia, after which they were re-established as separate provinces. https://www.thoughtco.com/german-last-names-1444607 (accessed May 1, 2023). The terms meaning differed greatly during the half-millennium in which the Hohenzollern family wielded power in Central Europe, many of its members crowned Kings of Prussia.. (Kevan Hansens Map Guide to German Parish Registers series, found in many libraries that have German collections, can also give this information.). Two related pieces of information can come to your rescue. Adelebsen (German noble family) Ahlefeldt (noble family) Albertine branch. The Celts populated Europe and England until conquered and assimilated by Germanic peoples, The First Reich, or first German Empire, lasted 1000 years, succeeded by the Second Reich in 1871, The 1871 map of Germany shows Prussia at the height of its power, The city of Breslau in Silesia has a long German history, but it is no longer part of Germany, The first practical refrigerator was invented in Germany in 1873. In addition to the individual volumes, which you can find in libraries that have substantial German genealogy collections, Minert has created a set of consolidated indexes to the first 14 volumes, which you can find in libraries with large German collections. Jews in Germany followed the custom of using only a given name and the name of the father, such as Isaac, son of Abraham (Isaac ben Abraham). Along with the rest of the Kingdom of Prussia, East Prussia became part of . The profile for each town name includes both German- and Polish-language place names, as well as what districts and parishes the villages belonged to. Most Jews did not adopt hereditary family names until required to do so by law. Aalbers Abela Abele Abeles Abrahamsen Achen Achter Achter Achterberg Acker Ackerman Addicks Adriance Akerman Akkerman Al Alberda Albers Alderink Alders Ale Alers Alkema Alles Alper Alsteen Ameling Amerman Amster Andries Family Education is part of the Sandbox Learning family of educational reference sites for parents, teachers, and students. Preuen issued an edict on 11 March 1812 that required that permanent family names be adopted within six months. Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning. Its thought that this system dates back to the time of Charlemagne. Our team is comprised of parents, experts, and content professionals dedicated to bringing you the most accurate and relevant information in the parenting space. Schmidt is the most common surname in the central German-speaking and eastern low German-speaking areas. For example, the surname Meyer means dairy farmer today, whereas, during the Middle Ages, Meyer designated people who were stewards of landholders. 1854. Find a Grave has become the leading site showing memorial information, but there are still many offline sources such as marker transcripts in county historical and genealogical libraries. In addition to church records, tombstones (often more detailed in earlier eras than they are today) will sometimes have villages of origin carved on them. Understanding Prussian History, 6 Ways to Find Your German Ancestors Place of Origin, Researching Genealogy in Historical German States, Best UK, Irish and Commonwealth Genealogy Websites, Family Tree Templates and Relationship Charts, How to Find Your Ancestors US Military Records, Preserving Old Photos of Your Family History, Surnames: Family Search Tips and Surname Origins, Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, hosts research-aid primers for all of the former Prussian provinces, a historic gazetteer (GOV), and links to many regional groups, Eastern Prussian Provinces, Germany [Poland], Selected Civil Vitals, 18741945.. It wasnt until the Middle Ages (in approximately the 12th century) that family names came into common use. Prussia : 1790 : 1867 Anderson : Hordaland : Norway . Surnames may also have been translated outright into English, sometimes with a slight twist. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Prussian census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more. Given that Prussia (the country) covered as much as ~135,000 square miles with a population of nearly 40 million people; names and dates are not enough to go on for a successful genealogical search. Men often take on the wife's surname if moving onto her property. Population-wise, the oblast is thoroughly Russian and Russophone in character, with almost none of the pre-World War II German, Lithuanian (Lietuvininks), Latvian speaking Kursenieki, or Polish population remaining in todays Kaliningrad Oblast. German names are strong and have a long history behind them. A version of this article appeared in the January/February 2021 issue of Family Tree Magazine. ThoughtCo, Apr. Three suffixes which often indicate a German occupational name are: -er (one who), commonly found in names such as Fischer, one who fishes; -hauer (hewer or cutter), used in names such as Baumhauer, tree chopper; and -macher (one who makes), found in names like Schumacher, one who makes shoes. Many of these professions no longer exist but survive in naming traditions. Apply this search to the main name collection, the letters in the pattern are compared to the letters in the name, search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes, this field understands simple boolean logic, force a term to be included by preceding it with a, force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a, sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations, syllables can only be counted in names that have been assigned pronunciations, names without pronunciations are excluded from results. Some farm families, particularly in Westphalia, used the particle "von" or "zu" followed by their farm or former farm's name as a family name. German immigrants may have been grouped together as the overly broad term Prussians. The misleading label may believe their actual identities: Pomeranians, Rhinelanders, Hanoverians and more. Some given names are often very different when translated into different languages, as shown by the following table. When you face one of these problems, your first stop should be the Meyers Gazetteer, the leading geographical dictionary of German lands published in the Second Empire period and available online. Abram. Dive into this disappearing state with this overview of Prussian history. After a few generations, these names became hereditary and were passed on from generation to generation. This category has the following 14 subcategories, out of 14 total. It possibly means "ploughed region" or "marshy region" in Old High German. Some German families used the following pattern for naming children, mostly in areas close to the Netherlands, because this pattern was really a Dutch, not German, custom: Gender and grammar can affect German name endings. This topic comes up frequently and seems to cause a lot of confusion, especially here in the US. East Prussia was the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. Some local groups are transcribing them, but youll need to write to the office to get records from most places.

How To Cook Pre Cooked Ribs On The Grill, Kevin Murphy Publix Wife, Elle Duncan Nationality Ethnicity, Pnc Arena General Parking, Articles P