Germany Naming Customs: Difference between revisions

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In many areas of Germany there is a widespread use of '''''"Hofnamen" or "farm names"''''' used.  This is especially true for '''Westfalen (Westphalia) and Hannover and parts of Rheinland and Schlesien (Silesia)'''.  Terms such as '''''modo'', ''vulgo'', ''genannt'', and ''alias '''''indicate this naming practice. 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. Men often take on the wife's surname if moving onto her property. Some of the children born to the couple may have used his surname, while others in the same family used the wife's family name. Be aware that as people moved, this might change their surname, and it may revert back and forth within the same records.  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.   More about [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ehrhard/Farm%20Names.htm Hofnamen] can be studied here.
In many areas of Germany there is a widespread use of '''''"Hofnamen" or "farm names"''''' used.  This is especially true for '''Westfalen (Westphalia) and Hannover and parts of Rheinland and Schlesien (Silesia)'''.  Terms such as '''''modo'', ''vulgo'', ''genannt'', and ''alias '''''indicate this naming practice. 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. Men often take on the wife's surname if moving onto her property. Some of the children born to the couple may have used his surname, while others in the same family used the wife's family name. Be aware that as people moved, this might change their surname, and it may revert back and forth within the same records.  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.   More about [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ehrhard/Farm%20Names.htm Hofnamen] can be studied here.
===Jewish Surname Customs===
'''Before the 1800s, the use of a surname by Jews was left to the discretion of the individual.'''<br>
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). Most Jews did not adopt hereditary family names until required to do so by law. By the 1820s, most small German states had extended civil rights to Jews and required them to adopt surnames.


=== Grammatical Changes in German Surnames  ===
=== Grammatical Changes in German Surnames  ===
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