What does the prefix von mean in German surnames. Number of names and family prefixes

In European countries, as in the rest of the world, a person's identity has been identified for many centuries by his name. An example is the very son of God Jesus, who at birth was named Emmanuel, and then called Yeshua. The need to distinguish different people with the same name required explanatory additions. So the Savior began to be called Jesus of Nazareth.

When did the Germans get surnames?

German surnames arose according to the same principle as in other countries. Their formation in the peasant environment of various lands continued until the 19th century, that is, it coincided in time with the completion of state building. The formation of a united Germany required a clearer and more unambiguous definition of who is who.

However, already in the XII century, on the territory of the present Federal Republic of Germany, there was nobility, and at the same time German surnames first appeared. As in other European countries, patronymics are not used here for personal identification. But at birth, the baby is usually given two names. You can refer to any person by adding a word meaning gender. Women's German surnames are no different from men's, they just use the prefix "frau" in front of them.

Types of German surnames

By linguistic origin, German surnames can be divided into groups. The first and most common is formed from names, mostly male. This is explained by the fact that the mass appropriation of surnames took place in a fairly short (in the historical sense) period, and there was simply no time for the manifestation of any sophisticated fantasy.

Surnames derived from given names

The simplest of them are those that did not philosophize for a long time, but simply formed them on behalf of their first owner. Some peasant was called Walter, so his descendants received such a surname. We also have Ivanovs, Sidorovs and Petrovs, and their origin is similar to the German Johannes, Peters or Hermanns. From the point of view of historical background, such popular German surnames say little, except that some ancient ancestor was called Peters.

Profession as a morphological basis of a surname

Somewhat less common are German surnames, which speak of the professional affiliation of their first owner, one might say, the ancestor. But the diversity of this group is much wider. The most famous surname in her is Muller, which means “miller” in translation. The English equivalent is Miller, and in Russia or Ukraine it is Melnik, Melnikov or Melnichenko.

The famous composer Richard Wagner could assume that one of his ancestors was engaged in freight transportation on his own cart, the ancestor of the storyteller Hoffmann owned his own household yard, and the great-grandfather of the pianist Richter was a judge. The Schneiders and Schroeders used to be tailors, and the Singers loved to sing. There are other interesting German male surnames. The list is continued by Fischer (fisherman), Becker (baker), Bauer (peasant), Weber (weaver), Zimmermann (carpenter), Schmidt (blacksmith) and many others.

There was once during the war Gauleiter Koch, the same one who was blown up by underground partisans. In translation, his surname means "cook". Yes, he made porridge ...

Surnames as a description of appearance and character

Some male and possibly female German surnames come from the appearance or character of their first owner. For example, the word "lange" in translation means "long", and it can be assumed that its original founder was tall, for which he received such a nickname. Klein (small) is his complete opposite. Krause means "curly", such an attractive feature of the hair of some Frau, who lived a couple of centuries ago, can be inherited. Fuchs' ancestors were most likely as cunning as foxes. The ancestors of Weiss, Brown or Schwartz, respectively, were blond, brown-haired or brunette. The Hartmans were noted for their excellent health and strength.

Slavic origin of German surnames

The German lands in the east always bordered on and this created the conditions for the mutual penetration of cultures. Well-known German surnames with the endings "-its", "-ov", "-of", "-ek", "-ke" or "-ski" have a pronounced Russian or Polish origin.

Lützow, Diesterhof, Dennitz, Modrow, Janke, Radetzky and many others have long become familiar, and their total share is one fifth of the total number of German surnames. In Germany, they are perceived as their own.

The same applies to the ending "-er", derived from the word "yar", which means a person in the Old Slavic language. Painter, teslyar, fisherman, baker are clear examples of such cases.

During the Germanization period, many of these surnames were simply translated into German, choosing the appropriate roots or replacing the ending with “-er”, and now nothing reminds of the Slavic origin of their owners (Smolyar - Smoler, Sokolov - Sokol - Falk).

Backgrounds-barons

There are very beautiful German surnames, consisting of two parts: the main one and the prefix, usually “von” or “der”. They contain information not only about unique features of appearance, but also about famous historical events in which the owners of these nicknames took part, sometimes actively. Therefore, descendants are proud of such names and often remember their ancestors when they want to emphasize their own generosity. Walther von der Vogelweid - it sounds! Or here is von Richthoffen, the pilot and the "Red Baron".

However, not only the former glory causes such complications in writing. The origin of German surnames can be much more prosaic and speak of the area in which the person was born. What, for example, does Dietrich von Bern mean? Everything is clear: his ancestors come from the capital of Switzerland.

German surnames of Russian people

The Germans have lived in Russia since pre-Petrine times, populating entire regions, called "slobodas", according to the ethnic principle. However, then all Europeans were called that, but under the great emperor-reformer, the influx of immigrants from the German lands was encouraged in every possible way. The process gained momentum during the reign of Catherine the Great.

German colonists settled in the Volga region (Saratov and Tsaritsinsk provinces), as well as in Novorossia. A large number of Lutherans later converted to Orthodoxy and assimilated, but they retained their German surnames. For the most part, they are the same as those worn by settlers who came to the Russian Empire during the 16th-18th centuries, with the exception of those cases when the clerks-clerks who prepared the documents made typos and mistakes.

Surnames considered Jewish

Rubinstein, Hoffman, Aizenshtein, Weissberg, Rosenthal and many other names of citizens of the Russian Empire, the USSR and post-Soviet countries are mistakenly considered by many to be Jewish. This is wrong. However, there is some truth in this statement.

The fact is that Russia, starting from the end of the 17th century, became the country where every enterprising and hard-working person could find his place in life. There was enough work for everyone, new cities were built at an accelerated pace, especially in Novorossia, recaptured from the Ottoman Empire. It was then that Nikolaev, Ovidiopol, Kherson and, of course, the pearl of the south of Russia - Odessa appeared on the map.

Extremely favorable economic conditions were created for foreigners coming to the country, as well as for their own citizens who wished to develop new lands, and political stability, supported by the military power of the regional leader, guaranteed that this situation would last for a long time.

Currently, Lustdorf (Merry Village) has become one of the suburbs of Odessa, and then it was a German colony, the main occupation of the inhabitants of which was agriculture, mainly viticulture. They also knew how to brew beer here.

The Jews, famous for their business ingenuity, trade savvy and handicraft abilities, also did not remain indifferent to the call of the Russian Empress Catherine. In addition, musicians, artists and other artists of this nationality came from Germany. The surnames of most of them were German, and they spoke Yiddish, which in its essence is one of the dialects of the German language.

At that time, there was a "Pale of Settlement", which, however, outlined a fairly large and not worse part of the empire. In addition to the Black Sea region, the Jews chose many areas of the current Kyiv region, Bessarabia and other fertile lands, building small towns. It is also important that living beyond the Pale of Settlement was mandatory only for those Jews who remained faithful to Judaism. Having adopted Orthodoxy, everyone could settle in any part of the vast country.

Thus, natives of Germany of two nationalities at once became carriers of German surnames.

Unusual German surnames

In addition to these groups of German surnames, originating from professions, hair color, appearance features, there is another, rare, but wonderful. And she speaks of the glorious qualities of character, good disposition and fun, which the ancestors of the person bearing this name were famous for. An example is Alisa Freindlich, who adequately confirms the reputation of her ancestors. "Kind", "friendly" - this is how this German surname is translated.

Or Neumann. "New Man" - isn't that beautiful? How great it is to please everyone around you every day, and even yourself, with freshness and novelty!

Or economic Wirtz. Or Luther with pure thoughts and an open heart. Or Jung - young, regardless of the number of years lived.

Such interesting German surnames, the list of which is endless!

So, my first post, which is not a copy-paste from a Pokelig magazine. And it was thanks to which my blog appeared (which is written in the first blog post).

It all started with the fact that once my friend Zoana, who is fond of writing fanfiction, asked me: what do the prefixes to the surnames of some characters in this or that work mean? I was also interested in the question, but at first I didn’t really want to delve into it too much. However, just a day later, I wondered - why do some characters have more than one or two names? The answer question to my friend did not give any results, and I decided to get on the Internet and puzzle over these two questions, simultaneously writing down the results of the “research” for her and for other interested acquaintances.

Also, in fairness, I will point out that a considerable part of the information presented here was gleaned from the Internet, and together with my own reflections, a kind of mini-report was obtained.

Number of names

I decided to start with “my own” question - why do some characters have one or two names, and some have three, four or more (the longest I came across in a story about two Chinese boys, where the poor was simply called Chon, and the name of the rich took up lines maybe five).

I turned to Mr. Google, and he told me that the tradition of several names today takes place mainly in English-speaking and Catholic countries.

The most illustrative is the "naming" system in the UK, presented in many books. According to her, according to statistics, all English children traditionally receive two names at birth - a personal (first name) and a middle (middle name) or second name (second name). Currently, the middle name plays the role of an additional distinguishing feature, especially for persons who have widespread names and surnames.

The custom of giving a child a middle name, as I found out in the same place, goes back to the tradition of assigning several personal names to a newborn. It is known that, historically, the name of a person had a special meaning, as a rule, testifying to the life purpose of the child, and was also associated with the name of God (or another Supreme Patron), on whose patronage and protection parents counted ...

Being distracted - at this moment I made some hesitation and chuckled a little over the idea that if someone cannot find the meaning of their life - then perhaps you need to study your name in more detail and act on the basis of it? Or (seriously), on the contrary, you can give your next character a name that will explicitly or implicitly testify to his purpose (which, by the way, was done by some well-known authors, giving the heroes of their works talking names and / or surnames).

In addition, as I read when I interrupted my reflections, the significance in society could also depend on the name. So, often, if the name did not contain the idea of ​​patronage, the carrier was considered to be ignorant by genealogy or insignificant and did not enjoy respect.

Several names, as a rule, were given to an important person, recognized to do several glorious deeds - as many as he has names. For example, the emperor, king, prince and other representatives of the nobility could have several names. Depending on the nobility and the number of titles, the full form of the name could be a long chain of names and exalting epithets. For monarchs, the main lifetime name was the so-called “throne name”, which officially replaced the name received by the heir to the throne at birth or baptism. In addition, a similar tradition is observed in the Roman Catholic Church, when the elected Pope chooses for himself the name by which he will be known from that moment on.

Of course, the church system of names and naming is much broader, and can be considered in much more detail (which is worth only the system “secular name - church name”), but I am not strong in this and I will not go deep.

It should also be noted that the church is traditionally the guardian of such customs. For example, the custom, partially preserved in the already mentioned Catholic Church, when a person often has three names: from birth, from baptism in childhood and from chrismation to entry into the world with the grace of the Holy Spirit.

By the way, at the same stage, there was once an additional - "nominal" - social stratification. The problem was that, historically, the church had to pay for every extra name at one time.

However, poor people contrived, and this “restriction” was bypassed - partly because of this, there is a French name that unites the patronage of all saints - Toussaint.

Of course, for the sake of fairness, I would recall the saying “seven nannies have a child without an eye” on this occasion ... It’s not up to me to decide, of course, although a good story could come out about the fate of a character with that name, whose patrons could not agree on joint patronage. Or maybe there are even such - I have not read so many works in my life.

Continuing the story, it is worth noting that middle names can also indicate the occupation or fate of the person wearing them.

Both personal names and geographical names, common nouns, etc. can be used as middle names. kind, foreshadowing a particular role for a person. The name can be “family”: when children are called “in honor” of one of the relatives. Any direct association of a name with its already known bearer will certainly connect the betrothed with the one in whose honor he or she was named. Although the coincidences and similarities here, of course, are unpredictable. And, often, the more tragic in the end is perceived dissimilarity. In addition, the surnames of the people in whose honor they are assigned are often used as middle names.

There is no law limiting the number of middle names (or at least I have not found any mention of such), but more than four additional middle names are usually not assigned. However, traditions and rules are often designed to be broken. In fictional worlds, the “legislator” is generally the author, and everything written lies on his conscience.

As an example of several names for a person from the real world, one can recall the well-known professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.

Another illustrative - but already fictional - example is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (JK Rowling - Harry Potter series).

Also, I recently found out the interesting fact that in some countries the "gender" of the middle name does not matter. That is, a female name can also be used as the middle name of a man (male character). This happens, as I understand it, all from the same fact of naming in honor of the highest patron (patron in this case). I somehow didn’t see the opposite examples (or don’t remember), but logically, women with average “male” names can also be.

As an example, only Ostap-Suleiman was remembered -Bertha Maria-Bender Bay (Ostap Bender, yeah)

Personally, on my own behalf, I will add the fact that nothing, in principle, prevents the author of a particular work from inventing and justifying his naming system.

For example: “in the world of Randomia, the number four is especially sacred, and in order for the child to be happy and successful, parents try to give him four names: the first is personal, the second is after his father or grandfather, the third is in honor of the patron saint and the fourth is in honor of one of great warriors (for boys) or diplomats (for girls) of the state”.

The example was invented absolutely right off the bat, and your invented tradition can be much more thoughtful and interesting.

I'll move on to the second question.

family prefixes

The question that my friend Zoana puzzled me with, and which I once asked myself, although I was too lazy to find out what was the matter.

To begin with, the definition Family prefixes- in some world nominal formulas, components and integral parts of the surname.

Sometimes they point to aristocratic origin, but not always. Usually they are written separately from the main family word, but sometimes they can merge with it.

At the same time, as I found out for myself from what I read, family prefixes differ from country to country and can have different meanings.

I also note that this part of the article turned out to be much more copy-paste and excerpts, since this issue has a much closer connection with history and languages, and my education, which is not specialized in the topic, is hardly enough to retell in a freer style.

England

Fitz - "son anyone", distorted fr. Fils de(for example: Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick) .

Armenia

Ter- ter [տեր], in the ancient Armenian original tearn (Armenian տեարն), “lord”, “lord”, “master”. For example: Ter-Petrosyan.

This prefix can have two similar, in general, meanings, and mean:

1) The title of the highest Armenian aristocracy, similar to the British lord. This title was usually placed before or after the family name, for example tern Andzewats or Artzruneats ter, and most often referred to nahapet (Head of a clan or tribal leader in ancient Armenia), tanuter (In ancient Armenia, the head of an aristocratic family, patriarch) or gaherets ishkhanu (In In the IX-XI centuries, the head of a noble family, corresponding to the earlier naapet and tanuter) of this family. The same title was used when referring to a person from the highest aristocracy.

2) After the Christianization of Armenia, this title also began to be used by the highest clergy of the Armenian Church. Unlike the original designation of an aristocrat, the title "ter" in church use began to be added to the names of clergymen. In such a combination, "ter" is similar to the church "father", "lord" and is not an indicator of the noble origin of the bearer of the surname. Now it is present in the surnames of those who had a priest in their ancestors in the male line. The word “ter” itself is still used today when referring to an Armenian priest or when mentioning him (akin to the more familiar to our hearing address “[holy] father”).

Germany

Background(For example: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Tsu(For example: Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg)

Basically a family prefix "background", as it turned out, is a sign of nobility. It expresses the idea of ​​land ownership by representatives of the ancient nobility, for example, “Duke von Württemberg”, “Ernst August von Hannover”. But there are exceptions. In the north of Germany, many "commoners" are called "von", which indicates only the place of residence / origin. Also, granted nobles, originally of burgher origin, who were elevated by the sovereign to noble dignity with the presentation of a copy of the letter of nobility (Adelbrief) and the salary of the coat of arms (Wappen), were given the family prefix "von" and Mr. Müller turned into Mr. Von Müller.

Unlike the "background" predicate "tsu" necessarily included a relation to a certain inherited landed property, mostly a medieval castle - for example "Prince von et zu Liechtenstein" (Liechtenstein = principality and family castle).

At present, the titles of aristocrats have become part of compound surnames in Germany. Such surnames often include the particle preposition "von", "von der", "von dem" (translated as "from"), less often "tsu" (translated as "in") or a mixed version of "von und zu".

It is generally believed that "von" indicates the place of origin of the surname (family), while "zu" means that the area is still in the possession of the family.

With a particle und“No matter how much I read, I didn’t fully understand it. Although, as far as I understand, it simply plays the role of a bundle, denoting either a mixture of family prefixes, or a combination of surnames in general. Although perhaps I am hindered simply by ignorance of the language.

Israel

Ben- - son (presumably following the example of the English Fitz) (for example: David Ben Gurion)

Ireland

ABOUT‘ means "grandson"

Poppy means "son"

That is, both prefixes in Irish surnames usually indicate their origin. Regarding the spelling of the prefix "Mak", I read that in most cases in Russian it is written with a hyphen, but there are exceptions. So, for example, the continuous spelling of such surnames as MacDonald, MacDowell, Macbeth, etc. is generally accepted. There is no general rule for this, and the spelling is individual in each case.

Spain

In the case of Spain, the situation is even more complicated, because, based on what I have read, Spaniards usually have two surnames: paternal and maternal. In this case, the paternal surname ( appellido paterno) is placed before the parent ( apellido materno); so that, in official address, only the paternal surname is used (although there are exceptions).

A similar system exists in Portugal, with the difference that in the double surname the mother's surname is the first, and the father's surname is the second.

Returning to the Spanish system: sometimes the paternal and maternal surnames are separated by the particle "and" (for example: Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)

Further, in some localities there is a tradition to add to the surname the name of the locality where the bearer of this surname was born or where his ancestors come from. The particle "de" used in these cases, unlike in France, is not an indicator of noble origin, but is only an indicator of the area of ​​\u200b\u200borigin (and, by implication, the antiquity of origin, since we know that localities sometimes tend to change names for one reason or another ).

In addition, when married, Spanish women do not change their surname, but simply add the husband’s surname to “apellido paterno”: for example, Laura Riario Martinez, having married a man named Marquez, can sign Laura Riario de Marquez or Laura Riario, señora Marquez, where the particle "de" separates the surname before marriage from the surname after marriage

The “revelry of naming” is limited by the fact that, according to Spanish law, no more than two names and two surnames can be recorded in a person’s documents.

Although, of course, any author, creating his own story and guided by the Spanish naming model for his characters, can simply ignore this law, coupled with the above tradition of middle names. Remember such entertainment as double names? What about the tradition of double surnames in some languages ​​(in Russian, for example)? Have you read the above information about the number of names? Yes? Four double names, two double surnames - can you imagine?

And you can also come up with your own naming tradition, as I wrote above. In general, if you are not afraid that your character will look too extravagant, you have a unique opportunity to reward him or her with a family name design for at least half a page.

Italy

In Italian, prefixes historically meant the following:

De / Dee- belonging to a surname, family, for example: De Filippo means "one of the Filippo family",

Yes- belonging to the place of origin: Da Vinci - "Leonardo from Vinci", where Vinci meant the name of the city, area. Later, Da and De became just part of the surname and now do not mean anything. Done not necessarily with this aristocratic origin.

Netherlands

Van- a particle that sometimes makes up a prefix to Dutch surnames derived from the name of a locality; often it is spelled together with the surname itself. Corresponding in grammatical meaning to the German "von » and French "de » . Often found as van de, van der and van den. It still means "from". However, if in German "von" means noble (with the exceptions mentioned) origin, then in the Dutch naming system the simple prefix "van" does not refer to the nobility. Noble is the double prefix van ... that (for example, Baron van Voorst tot Voorst).

Meaning of other common prefixes such as Van den, van der- see above

France

French consoles, for me personally, are the most famous and indicative

In France, prefixes to surnames, as mentioned earlier, denote noble origin. Translated into Russian, prefixes denote the genitive case, "from" or "...sky". For example, Cesar de Vandom- Duke of Vendôme or Vendôme.

The most commonly used prefixes:

If the last name starts with a consonant

de

du

If the last name starts with a vowel

d‘

Other

In addition, there are a number of different family name prefixes, the origin of which, unfortunately, I could not find out.

Listed below are just a few of them.

• Le(?)
• Yes, doo, shower (Portugal, Brazil)
• La (Italy)

So, as I found out in the end, the traditions of naming and “assembling” surnames are quite extensive and diverse, and most likely I considered only the tip of the iceberg. And even more extensive and diverse (and, often, no less interesting) can be author's derivatives of these systems.

However, in conclusion, I’ll add: before raising your hands over the keyboard in anticipation, think about it - does your character really need a name for half a page? In itself, the long name of the character is an idea of ​​little originality and, if there is nothing behind it but the author's "Wishlist", it is rather stupid.

Hello dear.
Have you ever paid attention to complex surnames? On all sorts of background and tsu? Personally, these things have always caught my eye. And I understood that this is far from always connected with a noble origin or de titles. Because it happens in different ways :-) Let's look at some examples.

Ursula von der Leyen
Let's start with the German ones. The most famous prefix to the surname is, in fact, von (von). Most often it is really an aristocratic surname. It can be translated as "from" The prefix "von" indicates the place of origin of the surname, although there were cases when the surname was not associated with the place of residence. Well, Otto von Bismarck, for example. As an option, it is not "background", but "fom". These are abbreviations of variants with the articles "von der", "von dem". The essence is the same

Vladimir Fyodorovich von der Launitz
Another variant of aristocratic surnames was the prefix zu (options "tsum", "tsur", etc.). It can be translated as "in". And most often it was used in a mixed version of "von und zu", for example, Hartmann von und zu Liechtenstein.

The combination of the prefixes “von” and “tsu” in the form “von und tsu” indicates that person of noble birth, whose ancestors have been living in this territory since the Middle Ages, that is, this territory is in the possession of the family by the time the surname is “fixed”. In addition, the prefix "zu" was worn primarily by the so-called "sovereign princes", who, in connection with the mediatization of 1803-1806, did not lose their princely title, but lost their "territorial" supremacy (for example, zu Isenburg, zu Stolberg). Thus, they differed from those princes who ruled after 1815 and wore the prefix "von".
And here are the options
in, im, in der, an der, am, auf, auf der, aus, aus dem, aus den were not at all a sign of a noble family. Unless they were an integral part of the possessive title. Although they also had the meaning "of". So-and-so from such a place.
Here is a famous German hockey goalkeeper, for example, has the surname Danny aus den Birken

Close meanings to German in Scandinavia and Finland. These are either born noble families, or altered after receiving a noble title. For example, Carl von Linnaeus (von Linné). Before the title was just Carl Linnaeus :-)

Although sometimes other prefixes were used. For example, af, or even the French de or de la (rarely though).
But the Swedish hockey player Jacob de la Rose plays in the NHL

A similar path was followed in Lithuania. The assignment of some awards equates the receipt of a knighthood, that is, the nobility, and thus can change the surname. The well-known media personality Anastasia von Kalmanovich changed her surname after her late (alas) most interesting husband Shabtai Kolmanovich received the Order of Grand Duke Gediminas.

To be continued...
Have a nice time of the day.

Two years have flown by in Naruto's world. Former rookies have joined the ranks of experienced shinobi in the ranks of chūnin and jonin. The main characters did not sit still - each became a student of one of the legendary Sannin - the three great ninja of Konoha. The guy in orange continued his training with the wise but eccentric Jiraiya, gradually ascending to a new level of martial prowess. Sakura has moved into the role of assistant and confidant of the healer Tsunade, the new leader of the Leaf Village. Well, Sasuke, whose pride led to expulsion from Konoha, entered into a temporary alliance with the sinister Orochimaru, and each believes that he is only using the other for the time being.

The brief respite ended, and events once again rushed with hurricane speed. In Konoha, the seeds of old strife, sown by the first Hokage, sprout again. The mysterious leader of the Akatsuki set in motion a plan for world domination. Unsettled in the Village of Sand and neighboring countries, old secrets emerge everywhere, and it is clear that one day the bills will have to be paid. The long-awaited sequel to the manga has breathed new life into the series and new hope into the hearts of countless fans!

© Hollow, World Art

Rules for the formation of a historical pseudonym in Germany.

So. Many of the representatives of the respected Assembly of reenactors, for a better immersion in the environment under study, come up with various “historical” names for themselves, over those on the passport. This is a sound idea, in my opinion. For if the reconstructor, being in the right detachment, turns to his neighbor: “Hey Vasya, give me a pike?” Or at a well-arranged tournament with even some ceremonial observance, they call “knight Petya Pupkin” accepted the challenge of “knight Kolya Derevyashkinov”, then this still cuts the ear. It is a completely different matter when a well-equipped detachment of soldiers speaks to each other in the native commands of that era and in the language of that country. It is always more pleasant to hear in the ranks, something like: “Klaus - you are responsible for the left flank! You take Ringe, Oswald Straube with Eugen and form the defensive line of the "gang" on the left"

Or, for example: “Herr Obrist! Herr Alex von Kaln arrived with his retinue. Which plot should be entrusted to the knight?

And, it should be noted that many re-enactors refuse modern names and use historical pseudonyms at festivals. This is good! Since all this (the format of field maneuvers, tournaments, festivals) is a game, such aspects make it more colorful.

However, if you look closely at the community, you can meet people who have made up their source pseudonym, to put it mildly, not correctly speaking. Saying which in those days, one could become a laughingstock)

That is why, so that such a moment of reconstruction as NAME is also not offended by science and common sense, I decided to write an article on how to compose names. For now, let's confine ourselves to medieval Germany.

Let's start with a simple estate: peasants, burghers, soldiers, merchants, etc... Everyone who was not a noble.

FIRST NAME LAST NAME

Everything is very simple - you need to choose a name from real-existing names at that time. Also with a surname or nickname. It may not exist at all. There are a lot of German old names. Google to help: all sorts of Fields, Otto, Oswalds, Heinz, Dietrichs, etc ... - there are plenty. Also, the native name can also be styled according to what you need. For example: Pavel - Paul; Dmitry - Dietrich, Dieter, Ditmar; Daniel - Daniel; Andrey - Andreas; Michael - Michael; Valery - Walter, etc..

If you need a surname, then you can make it easier: look at what word forms your surname and translate this word into German using an online translator.

EXAMPLE: surnames " KUZNETSOV» from the word BLACKSMITH- by him. SCHMITD!
or last name: KASATKIN» from the word killer whale- in German Schwertwal.

Thus, a person with a full name Andrey Kasatkin - in German can be represented as Andreas Schwertwal ( Andreas Schwertwal) . It even sounds!

As a rule, among commoners, the surname denoted belonging to the type of activity: miller - Muller; blacksmith - schmidt; mower - Mayer, etc ... also the surname could be the name of the father or be formed from his name: Hans Oswald; Peter Ludwig etc..

NICKNAME

For example, someone wants to be called and represented not just by a stylized full name, but also by a special word that characterizes some of his features.

That is, if the name of a certain tractor driver Vova Taburetkin nicknamed " THE VILLAIN » try to transform under ist.lad. It will come out like this:
Name Vova- take similar Voldemar;
surname Taburetkin (from the word stool), in German it sounds like Hocker (Hoke )
popular nickname of the villain, in translation it will be - bosemann (Bozeman or Bozeman ) hit on the letter "e"

So here Vova Tubretkin "Villain" can be historically named at festivals as:
Voldemar - Bozeman Hoke. Or Voldemar - Bozeman. Note that if an adjective is used, such as " EVIL"then you need to add a prefix "der" (DER ). And then Vova Vicious turn into "Voldemar der Böze"and if with a surname, then" Waldemar der Böze Hoke"- just some kind of Jap came out))))

By the way, among the Germans, it is customary to write the FIRST NAME first, then the NICKNAME, and then the SURNAME.

Of course, it is not necessary to take and mutilate your last name if you don’t want to. You can limit yourself to any other word: more complex: Wunderlicht; Brauhich; Steinnerbrener etc..

NOBILITY

Now let's move on to a more complex, but so alluring topic - noble names and surnames.

With the names of the nobles, everything is the same as with the common people. That is, we take the old names in Germany of the desired period and choose.
Nicknames are the same.
But the names here are more complicated. The main distinguishing sign of a nobleman from a commoner in Germany is the prefix " von"(« background "). Literal translation background – "from". That is, from those.
Götz von Berlinchingen this means - Götz of the Berlinchingen family, owning a territory called "Berlingchingen" .

Or, Georg von Frundsberg – Georg of the Frundsberg family .

By the way, if you dig into their names, then you can of course break your head . (In Germany, by the way, there is one VERY serious book. It is kept in the archives of Baron Dayot von Hemingham and contains a list of all the noble families of Germany. We saw and watched this book). For a person can bear one noble family name, and own a larger territory with a different name. So our friend Baron Dayo von Gemingen lives in the castle of the famous Götz von Berlinhigen and is his relative.) Personally, I prefer to consult with specialists in Germany on this topic, if I don’t understand something myself.

Early maturing nobles

I'll start with an example. There was such a tough man in the north of Germany, "Marx Mayer", who was never a nobleman, but was just cool and lucky. So, King Henry VIII of England made him a Knight himself, presenting him with a chain of the knightly Order of the Garter. And upon his return to his Lübeck, he began to call himself none other than Herr (MR.) Marx Mayer.

That is, he could not have the prefix "FON", because he did not have a noble family. If he had come to the Kaiser, the Kaiser would have endowed him with "6" acres of land and would have given him a "background". However, this did not happen, the luck of the peasant failed - he was hanged at the end of the thirties of the 16th century.

Prefix "VON" (BACKGROUND)

For example, some burgher or mercenary, for some cool merit, was knighted. The name of the burgher "Theodor Muller" (Fyodor Melnikov). Only someone of a “level” from the Emperor to the Count could knight him. After that, our Fyodor Melnikov should have been given some possessions - at least give a village. For example, they gave him a village called "Steindorf"(village "Kamenka" if in Russian) from which he will collect tribute. In total, our Fedya Melnikov immediately turned into Fedya from Kamenka. Or Theodor von Steindorf. What to do with the old surname: Müller??? It can be written after the name before the "background", or you can not write it.
That is: Theodor Müller von Steindorf. (Fyodor Melnikov Kamensky)

And if Fedya Melnikov has a son - Adolf Müller. Then he is a nobleman from birth with the surname von Steindorf with the title "Freicher", if there is still an unmarried daughter - " Ulli", then it will be referred to as: Frain Uli von Steindorf. By marrying Dr. Freiher to become " Freifrau».

Also, do not forget that during the Thirty Years' War a lot of villages and estates were destroyed. But the names remained.

BARON

There are a lot of people in our movement who like to call themselves "barons", while they themselves are engaged in the Germany of the Middle Ages. This is the BIGGEST mistake.

The fact is that "baron" if translated from the old Frankish means - a free man.

In Germany, such people were called " Freiherr"(Freicher). And in Germany, freihers began to be officially called barons only early 20th century. It went by the way, from the Napoleonic period, when the French, hosting the German territories, simply use the words accepted from the bottom.

Therefore, the German freiher is an analogue of the French baron in the Middle Ages.

You need to understand, the main thing: that, German Freiher, that the French Baron could be of different incomes. It's like the IP "PETORV A.E" has a super-small business and barely lives, and the IP "Shmultsevich M.K" owns a cool store and ... does not live sourly.

When forming letters of nobility, it is necessary to take into account the language of that territory. That is, if you write a German, then you should write in German and use the term " Freiherr”, if you write France-Burgundy, then write in French and translate the baron into French.

Let's go back to the example. Title of nobility Knight Marx Mayer was called - Freiher" ( Freiherr) . Literally, a free master. By the way, the same one-armed Götz von Berlinchingen was also a Freiherr. That is, having land, a castle, an ancient noble family and the title of Reichsmarschall, Goetz stood at the lowest rung of the noble hierarchy.

Therefore! Here is a kind of slander to all recons who want to make the nobility and claim the titles, BARON, EARL, DUKE, etc... - without a huge army under your banner; heaps of household stray and other belongings, throwing themselves at the high titles of mauvais ton and laughter.

The correct name would be Freiherr. For now, a reenactor with an average income can afford good-quality armor, clothes and some retinue. At any festival, a person well-dressed in a German, Swiss nobleman, having normal armor, weapons and a retinue of at least three to five people can safely declare himself " Freiherr and no one will say a word to him.

Well, if “one warrior in the field” and immediately “BARON” (and even German) or “EARL” without a camp and even without a TENT, then this is not a baron, but strike from the mountain ...)))

Therefore, when I see the "inflated" Barons of singles; Markgrafof in semi-goblin uniforms with turned up noses and sectarian rules in clubs - such individuals can cause nothing but a smirk!

The method proposed in this article is a kind of unitarism for the formation of names and surnames in the right way.

I'm not writing all this casually. In the distant 90s, we were all youths with burning eyes, noble to the point of disgrace and to ... idiocy. Some of them still are. And we all wanted beautiful names, pathos titles, and other “maximalist” nonsense!
For example, your humble servant, now the Head of the Frundsberg Army, chose a name for himself in 1997: William von Eisen. Having seen enough of "Braveheart" probably))) there Mel Gibson was such a whole "Sir William" ... And since the club was engaged in Germany, he took the noble prefix "background". And the surname is “Aizen”, that is, “Iron” (in fact, “Aizen”, literally translated, is iron in its raw form).

Well then, in the shaggy 90s and “dashing” 00s, it was forgivable because no one knew a damn thing - there was no information. But those shaggy years have passed and the one who failed to adapt to the progress of the military-historical movement has sunk into oblivion ....

On one of the Polish "Grunwalds" I met a German. When I introduced myself to him, the German chuckled lightly, without showing it. Over a beer, he later told me why. But from what. My source pseudonym caused a laugh. An English name was chosen, and the German noble prefix FON and the surname in the form of the word “IRON” were taken, that is, William - IRON! Yes, and I was dressed up as a "Teutonic" warrior, and not ... an English sir)).

I then changed the name to the German "Wilhelm"

In the future, I learned from people knowledgeable in German heraldry how best to write my historical pseudonym. It turned out how I introduce myself at all modern knight tournaments: Wilhelm der Eiserne von Stahladler Duke of Tyrol. Or Wilhelm der Eiserne, in short. Wilhelm der Eiserne von Stahladler.

Or, for example, our beloved and respected expert Klim Zhukov has the correct source alias " Rotger Von Eismarch» .

Komtur of the Smolensk Komturia of the VLO has a very correct name " Max Tier»
his name is Maxim, and his nickname is "The Beast"

Hauptmann of the Frundsberg Army Konstantin Popkov has the correct alias - " Christoph der Heise»

Member of the Frunsberg Army and well-known on the TF, an expert in armor and weapons " Bookworm» chose a German pseudonym

« Klaus Buch» .

Member of the Frundsberg Army Bazhutov Mikhail- my student and multiple participant in our plate tournaments has the name " Michael Schwarzkreuz».

By the way, many citizens who do not even have a hint of a certain mat. status of the nobility add the prefix “ Background" For example… " someone" von Bern.

« Von Bern”can be called the person who is its owner, if in those days. Now, probably this is the one who created this club and is in charge of it.
if a fighter of this club wants to mark himself as belonging to this community, then it would be correct to write as follows:
allowable Richter Straube zy Bern. That is, it means that Richter Straube from Bern.

Or if a person claims a title of nobility and has the prefix "background", then it would be correct to say:
Herr Voldemar von Radomski zu Bern.

So friends! Follow a certain rule of name-formation and try to maintain the declared status with materiel, deeds and people who form your community !!!

And then, when you meet with German recons, they will not laugh at you, even behind your back)))

P.S. if anyone has a question about creating his own source pseudonym, please contact us - we will help)