Von with surname
biig
researching the Kraft name for several years, a newly found cousin
indicated that it may have been VonKraft. Thanks...........Sharon
Luft100
Go to the following address, and look under Part III: Nobility. You'll find
everything you ever wanted to know about the subject.
http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/atrfaq.htm
>Can anyone tell me what the Von prefix on a surname would mean? After
>researching the Kraft name for several years, a newly found cousin
>indicated that it may have been VonKraft. Thanks...........Sharon
E. von Ehrenberg
Jeff (EXCHANGE:ALBT:7H81)
gave the meaning of Von.
"Von" is literally translated to "of" and is often used after
a title or a first name and before a place name.
I hope that helps.
Jeff
C.F. Scheel
from nobility
(which no longer exist, but the "von" is still used). Literally,
it refers to the
place of origin of the forefather. Note it is spelled with a
lowercase initial,
even following a period!
Christian
--
Christian F. Scheel (cfsc...@online.no) PB 108 N-0701 Oslo,
Norway
- Homepage: http://home.sol.no/~cfscheel/index.htm
- - - Dum vivimus, vivamus - - -
Luft100
>from nobility
>(which no longer exist, but the "von" is still used). Literally,
>it refers to the
>place of origin of the forefather. Note it is spelled with a
>lowercase initial,
>even following a period!
>
>Christian
>
>
>Jeff (EXCHANGE:ALBT:7H81) wrote:
>
>> I browsed through that link about nobility but it never
>> gave the meaning of Von.
>> "Von" is literally translated to "of" and is often used after
>> a title or a first name and before a place name.
>> I hope that helps.
>> Jeff
Again, I would urge all those interested in this subject to read Part III:
Nobility, at the following URL:
http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/atrfaq.htm
The term "von" is called a noble predicate. If the noble predicate precedes
ones surname, it usually means the person is of noble position. However, there
are a few exceptions to this, as noted in the above URL. Further, A person
could only have been granted the noble predicate "von" by a sovereign. The
balance of a "von" surname, e.g., von Schmid, does not necessarily denote the
place of origin of the noble family. There are a lot of "von" families whose
surname does not designate their family's place of origin.
E. von Ehrenberg
Gvonstud
> nobility
>(which no longer exist, but the "von" is still used).
Really? Since when does the nobility no longer exist? Or are you referring to
the legal position of the nobility in Norway?
Gilbert von Studnitz
C.F. Scheel
Gvonstud wrote:
Hey, sorry, what I meant to say was that they no longer have special privileges.
- or am I wrong again?? (This is certainly true for Norway!)
Naomi Schoenfeld
To my understanding, 'Von' was often associated with nobility in some
areas, but was also used to mean, 'from'. So that a non-noble Fritz (a
case from my files) who traveled to the United States, and was from a
place called Marienhoff, ended up with the name, Fritz von Marienhoff.
I doubt one can simply assume noble descent from a 'von'.
Naomi
--
To reply via email, remove the phrase NO SPAM from the domain name.
Gvonstud
>privileges.
>- or am I wrong again?? (This is certainly >true for Norway!)
No, there you are correct..the German Constitution abolished the privileges of
the Nobility as first class of the realm, but many people take this to mean the
Nobility itself was abolished..which is completely untrue.
Gilbert von Studnitz
Gvonstud
>areas, but was also used to mean, 'from'.
>I doubt one can simply assume noble descent from a 'von'
The "von" is a noble predicate in all German (and some others, such as Russian)
speaking areas. There are a number of families who legitimately use the "von"
as you note, but are not and make no pretense to be noble. Nevertheless the
vast majority of persons who legitimately use the von (as opposed to someone
who just adopts it or pays for it) are noble.
Gilbert von Studnitz
Per Lilje
sovereign give nobility to a subject, or did it have to officially
go through the otherwise rather impotent emperor (Holy Roman etc.)?
The following happened to an ancestor from the part of Pommerania which
from 1648 belonged to the king of Sweden (who as ruler of Western
Pommerania, but not as king of Sweden, at least in the name was under
the Emperor): Christoph Beetz started as a private soldier in a
Pommeranian cavalry regiment in Swedish service. Du to his bravery,
leadership skills etc. he was commissioned as an officer (during
the Great Nordic War) and in ca. 1740 he was ennobled with the
name Beetz von Beetzen by the Emperor. Since this was for services
to the king of Sweden, I found it strange that it was the Emperor
who gave him nobility and the "von". Was this common? While Christoph
died as "Stadtmajor" in Stralsund, two sons emigrated to Sweden proper
as officers of the Swedish army and brought the family Beetz von Beetzen
there. Whoever, it has never been introduced to the Swedish house
of nobility, and therefore belongs to the so called "Non-introduced
nobility", i.e. foregin nobility who is only half-accepted as Swedish
nobility (totally irrelevant in the modern world, of course, but
of major importance a hundred years ago.
Per B. Lilje
Gvonstud
> Could any
>sovereign give nobility to a subject, or did it have to officially
>go through the otherwise rather impotent emperor (Holy Roman etc.)?
Yes, though the "Reichsadel" given by the Emperor was considered of greater
status.
> I found it strange that it was the Emperor
>who gave him nobility and the "von". Was this common?
It happened quite a bit. My grandmother's family, Baltic Germans residing in
Riga (so under the Russian Czar) received the Reichsadel from the Holy Roman
Emperor in 1804.
Gilbert von Studnitz
Herma Gumpert
'van", being the Dutch equivalent for 'von' means: from) are often named
with 'von' in Germany, once the Germans find out the nobility of teh
person. E.G.: Sandberg, dutch nobility, was called Herr von Sandberg in
Germany.