ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2591 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2591 ************************************ From: Sara L Friedemann 13 Nov 2002 Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if would be an appropriate surname for a 16th century German man. Here is the information we have found. We have not yet found evidence that existed as a surname before the 18th century [1,2]. You said that you were interested in as a source of the modern surname . We have actually not found any substantive evidence for this connection, either; and indeed, it would be incorrect to speak of as _the_ origin of , as we have found evidence of other origins. [5] Since we were not sure whether you were more interested in possible origins of or German surnames that sound similar to , we have researched the latter. If you would be interested in creating a name using or one of its other origins as your surname, please write us again and we'll be happy to help. We would like to note that your proposed pronunciation of is not quite correct; in modern German, the name is pronounced \IH-rich\, with the \ch\ being the soft German \ch\ found in . We found a number of similar sounding German surnames which may appeal to you: or : This is likely a variant of the Frisian given name , which is found in the Frisian patronymic surnames (surnames based on the father's given name) or . [3] The spelling is also recorded, as a surname, in 1496 in the northern part of Germany. [9] : This is derived from the place name , earlier known as . Ihringen is near Freiburg in the southwestern corner of modern Germany, near the border with France. means "man from Ihringen." The surname is recorded as in 1411; represents a u-umlaut. [4] We are not certain if the spelling was in use by 1600, but we believe it could have been. : This is a given name from the Nibelungenlied, often used in the High Middle Ages; as a surname derived from the given name, it is recorded as in 1315; the spelling is also reasonable for the 16th century. [4] : This is an occupational byname meaning "whitleather-dresser, whittawyer," and we find it recorded as in 1372. [8] By the 16th century, the modern spelling would be appropriate If you'd like some resources for choosing a German given name appropriate for this time period, we can recommend the following articles: "Medieval German Given Names from Silesia" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/bahlow/ "Late Period German Masculine Given Names" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/germmasc/ We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Falko von der Weser, Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Ursula Georges. For the Academy, -Argantgui filia Catmaili, 13Nov02 -- References: [1] "Queries from the Genealogical Society of Page County, Virginia Newsletter" (WWW: Genealogical Society of Page County) http://www.rootsweb.com/~vagspc/pagequer.htm, accessed 12Oct02 [2] "Ary Family Genealogy Forum" (WWW: Privately published) http://genforum.genealogy.com/ary/?AID=5029314&PID=445158, accessed 12Oct02 [3] Bahlow, Hans, _Dictionary of German Names_, tr. Edda Gentry (German- American Cultural Society, 1994 ISBN: 0924119357). s.n. Ihr(c)ke [4] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Woerterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957- 1960). s.nn. Ihringer, Iring [5] One such other source is the English byname , which is recorded as in 1617 and in 1647. [6] [6] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.n. Airey [7] We found two websites of unknown authority that connect the two, but neither give conclusive evidence for this connection. [1,2] [8] Schwarz, Ernst, _Deutsche Namenforschung. I: Ruf- und Familiennamen_ (Goettingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1949). s.n. [9] Engel, Franz, _Die Mecklenburgischen Kaiserbederegister von 1496_, Mitteldeutsche Forschungen 56 (Koeln: Boehlau Verlag, 1968). p. 289 --