(And nevermind that the Von Trapps are Austrian!). Pfefferkorn - Pfefferman - Feferman - ge: FETTERMAN A great Majority of the surnames of the German Aristocracy contained the word "von", "Zu" and other denominations. The Origin of German Last Names . There was virtually no upward movement between classes, and only limited upward mobility within each class. Family tree of the German Monarchs; House of Hohenzollern; German Nobility; German Noble Families; Imperial, Royal and Noble Families of Germany 3 Pages; Surnames include . Most German surnames derive either from archaic professions (such as Schmidt, Müller, … Find more great German names. For example, the surname Meyer means dairy farmer today, whereas, during the Middle Ages, Meyer designated people who were stewards of landholders. ADALRIC: German form of Anglo-Saxon Aethelric, meaning "noble rule." The goal of this project is to trace the German royal family and noble families. Pages in category "German noble families" The following 200 pages are in this category, out of approximately 222 total. If you want to acquire a “real” nobility title, you will only have to investigate whether or not your family is … A variation on locality names, farm names in Germany are names which came from the family farm. German Genealogy German Nobility, Aristocracy, Lineage, Heraldry and Coats of Arms. The German Nobility in Law and Practice . The English have a peerage system and not an extensive system of nobility, though their squires or landed gentry would tend to be the closest thing. Trenck - Von der Trenck. The thing which makes them different from traditional surnames, however, is that when a person moved onto a farm, he would change his name to that of the farm (a name which usually came from the farm's original owner). ADALBRECHT: "Bright nobility." Pre-1918 German society had farm laborers and servants at the bottom of the social scale and the nobility at the top. At this point, however, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that the nobility of the nobility offered here are not real nobility titles in the sense of the word. The German system of nobility, as indeed the European system in general, is quite different from the English system with which most Americans are familiar. Old German name composed of the elements adal "noble" and beraht "bright." This list may not reflect recent changes ( learn more ). The nobility of Germany as a legally regulated caste was supressed the 11th of August of 1919 by the Republic of Weimar, which established by law an egalitarian social structure. A glossary of these titles is below. A list of German origin and Americanised family names. When dealing with German royals and nobles, we often see their titles in German. The traditional honorifics for nobility are, in descending order, Majestät for emperors and kings and their wives (but not husbands), kaiserliche Hoheit for the members of imperial houses (though in the German Empire only the Crown Prince, with the others merely considered Prussian royalty; in Austria after 1867 officially "kaiserlich-königlich") Hohenzollern. For a classic German name, just think of the children in The Sound of Music: Friedrich, Kurt, Louisa, Brigitta, and wee Gretel. For more information, see: Wikipedia: German Nobility Heraldica: The German Nobility Altgraf/Altgräfin - Altgrave/Altgravine - used by the counts of Lower Salm to distinguish themselves from the Wild- and Rhinegraves of Upper Salm Burggraf/Burggräfin… The meanings of German last names are those as defined initially when these names became surnames. Old German name composed of the elements adal "noble" and hart "hardy; strong." Surnames of the Nobility. German Farm Names . ADALHARD: "Noble strength." 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