German Names from 1495: Surnames

by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (Sara L. Uckelman)

© 2005 Sara L. Uckelman; all rights reserved
last update 31Dec05

The following is an alphabetical listing of the surnames found in Schmid, Peter. Der Deutsche Orden und die Reichssteuer des Gemeinen Pfennigs von 1495: Die Grundherrschaft des Deutschen Ordens im Reich an der Wende vom 15. zum 16 Jahrhundert. (Neustadt: Degener in Kommission, 2000.), a list of taxation records levied in Baden-Württemberg in 1495.

Virtually everyone was listed with either one surname or no surname, but occassionally there are examples of two surnames, where the latter is a locative, e.g. Heintzlin Grawe von Krewelßheim, Clauß Taupacher von Birckenzell, Hanns Mair von Wolfferßbrun, Matthiß Reutter von Sulnaw. There are a few examples of <given> <surname> <descriptive> or <descriptive> <given> <surname>, e.g. Hans Franck der alt 'Hans Franck the old' (der alt is usually used to distinguish the father from the son when father and son have the same name) or Klein Hanß Franck 'small Hans Franck' (who was the son of Hans Franck der alt). At this time, the surnames were by and large inherited; a son would have had the same surname as his father, and wives and daughters used their husband or father's surname in the feminine or possessive form. More information about women's surnames can be found here.

Because the list is so long, I have broken it up into four different pages:

A - G
H - M
N - S
T - Z