Gerner (family name)

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Civil Ger ner arms before 1640

The family name Gerner is described in the Duden (2005) with four meanings:

The Duden does not describe the name form Gerner, which was formed from a patronymic family name from Gernot . This is then explained with evidence and should be included and added to the interpretation of the name for Gerner in the future.

Name research

Due to its Germanic origin, Gerner is a very old name and family name from the word “Ger” (spearhead). Gerner is the frequency of names in the German-speaking area at position 2240. After a working meeting in 2003 by Gerner / Gernert / Görner researchers of the working group of East German family researchers , the analysis of many sources from the area of Saxony , Silesia , Bohemia , Franconia , Thuringia and Hessen instead. It became a Görner book ( Chronicle of the Görner Family ). and other writings published (link to it in the text) Literature sources, Franconian and Bohemian regesta, various archive documents, name books, spelling and language changes, the Berni Rula census, the migration of the Gerner tribes, statistical accumulation of names in regions, etc. a. were consulted, researched and compiled by the author Jürgen Gerner.

Gernert, 1572 hand drawing from Hostinné , German Arnau
Gerner, house name in Sindolsheim in 1846
Gerner, 2019 Calligraffiti in Lankow

Further origins of the name

The Duden does not mention the meaning of the derivation of Karner / Kerner / Gerner ( Middle Latin carnarium ) from the charnel house. Meyers Konversations-Lexikon describes the Gerner as a Romanesque chapel building with a polygonal tower.
  • Gerner: professional name, Gerner, Gäörner, Gärnler, Gernler (yarn knitter, puller), also called gardener in Low German as Görner
  • Gerner: Spelling and sound variants of Gernhart are spoken together, Gernrt and Gernert and with "t" waste, Gerner .
  • Gerner: In the old Franconian Main region, Gernot - Gernet becomes today's name Gernert and the descending "t" gives rise to the name Gerner .

The derivation of the name zu Gerner from Gernot has not yet been mentioned in the relevant family name books.

Name derived from the Nibelungenlied

The various copies of the Nibelungenlied show the variants and derivatives of the name Gernot and Gero around 1200. The different manuscripts resulted in other sounds, the -o- becomes -e- . The basis here are the following passages of the 28th improved edition by Karl Simrock from the year 1874: "both Margraves Gere and Eckehart ..." Gere = Gero - Gernot = Gernet (ff. See references)

Name change through abbreviation

In the Middle Ages and in the modern era , document writers used abbreviations to shorten words and names in cursive script. So names were not only changed linguistically, but also in writing. Examples exist in different places and times. The U-sign above the word (opened up or down) shortened -er- . (The abbreviation symbol represents an Arabic “2” or a lying “s”, but it is actually an “r” in Gothic script. It was also used to shorten the er syllables.)

Year and place Abbreviation variant Text, transcription, note on script
1325 and 1330, Wertheim
Abbreviation of the name Gernot
GERN u. WTHEIM, here Gerner u. Wertheim
 Gladly like Gerner
1467, Vienna
Glad pastor, here Glad parish priest
Otten Gerner, here Gerner advertised
 Abbreviation by Gerner and Pastor, Otten Gerner in the same document. The first letter G Gerner often resembles himself wrote the letter B . When reading documents, misinterpretations occurred due to the special form of the G s.
G erner, spelling of G in the 17th century, not to be read as B.

Earliest mention of the name

  • Gernersheim called around 888 in the Rhine area (Kerenesheim, Gernsheim ) (books.google.de)
  • Irerius (also ... Guarnerius, Gernerius): excellent lawyer of the 12th century, a Bolognese by birth, appears in documents from 1113 to 1125, since 1116 in the service of Emperor Heinrich V.
  • Gostuwe von Gerner (1305), wife of Johann von Almelo (1300–1350) Niederadel Netherlands 13th century, acolytes of the Netherlands
  • Konrad Nagel den Gerner (1431), purchase of a field in front of St. Lienhards Tor, Gmünd near Regensburg

Name origin according to places

Historical river name Gernsprintz near Stockstadt a. M.

People who came from places called Gern were named Gerner according to their origin and vice versa, places were named after them:

This place was called Heim des Gerin / Gerun in 830/50 in an early Franconian period , with a long e and short i / u. Spellings were 852 Gerunesheim, between 830/50 Gernesheim, 871 Gerinesheim / Kerinesheim. In an old script about the city, here called Gernersheim , it says in Latin: "d) Petri Schoifferi, who is very well known here, the perfect and famous typographer in the country, has now called the place Gernsheim"
  • Gernspinz , Ger-like or pointed river or stream inlet into the Main near Stockstadt
  • Gern , Insel in Ornbau , 1149 u. Called Kerin in 1155
  • Gernerfels, a climbing rock in Gößweinstein , Franconian Switzerland
  • Gern , there are 19 places with the name Gern in Germany, including:
    • Gladly , part of Eggenfelden. Adalpert de Geren 1150 ( Geren Castle ), Castrum Geren 1260 documented, mentioned 1290
    • Gladly , neighborhood in Munich

coat of arms

Gerner coat of arms, Netherlands.jpg
Gerner coat of arms, Netherlands
Coat of arms Gerner, Roberthus 1549.jpg
Glad, Rhenish nobility
Coat of arms Gerner v.Lilienstein, Siebmacher.jpg
Glad, Baden nobility
Gerner coat of arms, Adelsheim.jpg
Glad, Baden patricians and citizens
Gerner coat of arms, civil before 1640.jpg
Gladly, patrician from Baden
Ger mershausen (nobility)
  • A councilor family Gerner existed in Wimpfen in the 16th century . Its members were ennobled, Abraham Gerner von Lilienstein , Count Palatinate, received a coat of arms certificate, in it an older civil family coat of arms is mentioned in the form of an open flight : " Your coat of arms, which you had earlier, was yellow against another eagle wing that was valued by the Saxons watch ... ". The German-speaking heraldists of that time used the open flight or the open Saxons in the Gerner and Görner noble arms . Because -e- became -ö- in the different linguistic areas, the equality of the noble coats of arms of the Gerner and the Görner has apparently been taken into account in the coat of arms of the government houses. The Dutch coat of arms of Gerner differs in the heraldic rules, it shows a church banner, village / manor Gerner in the province of Overijssel (around 1300).


  • Ger mershausen, open flight as in the civil Gerner coat of arms of Gerner von Lilienstein city ​​of Wimpfen and open flight in the coat of arms (nobility dead nobility provincial Brandenburg Siebmacher panel 17. and deceased nobility of the Fürstenth. Schwarzburg, panel 6)

Details on the coats of arms of the Gerner, Gernert, Gernet and Görner on the following pages:

Occurrence of the Gerner in Germany

The distribution of the variants of the Gerner names and similar is very different from region to region. This is due to the dialect and dialect as well as internal migration of the German-speaking population through war and displacement. The sound shift in the regional languages ​​contributed to the fact that the name Gerner became a Görner and also reversed back to the original name. The Berni Rula , the Bohemian census of the 17th century , also provides information on this . The changes from G to K , K to G are clear in it. Even with the "petrification" of family names in Germany in the 19th century, many former Gerner of the 17th and 18th centuries, then called Görner, were renamed Gerner again in Lower Silesia. Another aspect is the influence of the Ingwaeonisms in Old High German personal names such as Kernot, Kernod. The old-language names for the spear, such as Kar, Ker, Gar, Ger, also show the sound shift. Some examples Gar ibald = Ker palt (Speerkühn) becomes Gerbold, Gerhard, Gernot, Gertrud (Speertraud).

Gerner.Görner relationship 2003.jpg
Relationship of the names Gerner to Görner in Germany
Gladly similar name average in Germany.jpg
Strongest concentration of family names that begin with `` glad '' in Germany


Evidence of the family name Gerner and variants

The naming of the details from name books is important for the origin of the name and its change over time and in the different linguistic landscapes. a. the alternative spellings Gernet, Gernt, Gernerth, Gernert, Gärner, Görner, Goerner, Girner .

Abbreviations: FN = family name, ON = place name, VN = first name, TN = baptismal name, Ew = inhabitant


Occurrence in Germany on the basis of telephone connections and other address surveys

Based on the connections, conclusions can be drawn about the number of family members. With the method via the portal names online service Geogen (Geographical Genealogy), regional frequencies can be discussed, another possibility of comparative name distribution offers:

Surname Number (inferences about families) / extrapolated Ew Relative geographic accumulation (number per million inhabitants), remark
Gladly 1460/3888 Districts (Lkr.) Roth, Ansbach, Neumark in the Upper Palatinate (BY)
Gladly 339/904 District Kitzingen (BY)
Gernet 103/272 District Kitzingen (BY)
Gerneth 93/248 District Forchheim (BY)
Welcome 35/88 District Mansfelder Land (ST)
Gladly 231/616 Zollernalb district (BW)
Gernhardt 361/960 District Saalfeld-Rudolstadt (TH)
Gernhard 73/192 District of Memmingen (BY)
Gladly 32/80 District Miltenberg (BY)
Görner 1488/3968 Middle Erzgebirgskreis (SN), partly Sudeten Germans from Northern Bohemia 20th century
Görnert 182/480 District of Giessen (HE)
Goerner 53/136 District Lüneburg (NI)
Really 46/120 District Osterode am Harz (NI)
Approximately 22/56 Lkr.Siegen-Wittgenstein (NW), from Lower Silesia, 19th century
Honored 2/0 District-free city of Würzburg (BY)
Henricum Gernot, court document, page 1
Gernot becomes Gerneten, p. 2 of the court document
On page 3, Gernot becomes Gernert in Unterwittighausen
  • Change of name by different spelling of a person in three consecutive court process pages.
Dispute before the Apostolic and Imperial Consistorial Court of Würzburg , Zum Roten Tor
  • First page: 1624 ... Müller Henricum Gernot ( Heinrich Gernot ) Selling a mill in Unter-Wittighausen
  • Second page: 1624 Nov. 22 ... Henricum Gernerten ( Heinrich Gerner ) ... Dispute refused payment to Bronnbach Monastery
  • Third page: 1624 Nov. 22 minutes of the trial ... Henricum Gernert ( Heinrich Gernert ) in Unter-Wittighausen
  • Contributions to Knowledge of Sudeten German Dialects by Friedrich Festa, Volume 3, Prague 1926
    • § 59 calls the final -er and -er with consonants (-ern, -ert, ers), in Arnau an der Elbe it becomes an "o ", in Hohenelbe " e "
    • § 70 in Rochlitz the " d " is pronounced as " t ", a voiceless Fortis turns " g " into " k "
The aforementioned variants became Gern e t, Gern o t, G erner to K erner.
These variations are due to the dialect of the German settlers who immigrated from Main Franconia and East Franconia to the Bohemian Giant Mountains in the 13th century.
In the Czech Giant Mountains came into Tschermna before Kerner (T), is 10 km from Arnau there was the GERNER (T). In the Arnauer Stadtbuch there are 1505 Kernert and Gernert. (The spellings did not change afterwards)
  • German onomatology from Max Gottschald, Rudolf Schützeichel. 1st edition. 1932 and 5th edition 1982
    • Gernhart: Gern / hard (t), -e (r) t, -eke (* ´Gernot and Garnatz), Girnat, -ndt, -ent, Kernert
  • The Miltenberg family names in their linguistic meaning , a German study by P. Ambrosius Götzelmann, Aschaffenburg 1928, p. 8.
    • In Article I. Family names, which are derived from Germanic personal names : Kern von Gernolt respectively. Gerno = like , the impetuous fighting passion of the Teutons (the spelling and spoken language in Main Franconia changes K and G , as it also occurs in the Bohemian Giant Mountains due to Main Franconian immigration in the 14th and 15th centuries)
  • Sudeten German family names of the 15th and 17th centuries 16th century by Ernst Schwarz, 1972 Verlag Robert Lerche Munich, pp. 103/104.
    • Gerhard, 1436 Kerharth , - tt Hm-Stadtbuch 249. Mhd. Personal name Gerhart. k - is the Czech spelling for German g .
    • Gernot, 1415 Peter Gernt Msch-Stb 109; 1528 Merten Gerneth (Arnau) MGB 11, 58. A witness for the popularity of the Nibelung poem , where the second of the Burgundian royal brothers is called Gernot . In Silesia, still today, FN Giernoth and Gernold (FN I 108).
  • Distribution and the origin of the Germans in Silesia by Dr. Karl Weinholt, Stuttgart, published by J. Engelhorn
    • Page 175 Personal names in documents, until 1250 Gerold , then until 1300 Gernot
    • Page 211 Schlesische FM, Gerth , Gierth, Gierdt = Gerhard, Low German Gert, Middle Franconian Giert. Girnt , Girndt = Gernot, Middle Franconia. Reduction; More Central German is welcome .
    • Page 214 "Most of the time, Silesian gives the impression of an East Franconian dialect along the Sudeten mountain range."
  • Family history booklets for Niederlausitz by Dr. Alfred Pätzold, Heft 10, 1939 Association for local history to Cottbus eV
    • Gernot (vice versa: Notger with a different meaning fd) the Gerschwinger. - In the Nibelungenlied, Gernot means ...
  • Franconian surnames, recorded in documents and interpreted by Dr. phil. Edmund Nied, Heidelberg 1933, Carl Winters University Bookstore
    • Page 57, Gernert (so already in Unterschesslitz) is traced back with Gernet and Gerhard to an old German first name Gernhardt that is nowhere attested; But since Gernot is actually the first name Gernot known from the Nibelungenlied and Gernhardt, like Gernard 1638 in Hainstadt, appears as an obvious subsidiary form alongside the common Franconian family name Gerner, it is like the equation Valentin Gernert = Valentin Gerner in Wenkheim in the 18th century, exactly the fn. Schweiger (t), Schweikert and Schweikhart, in order to match the numerous personal names on -hart such as Gerhart, Bernhart u. the like
    • Page 59 Görner (t) = Gerner (t)
  • History of Silesia, a manual by Michael Morgenbesser
    • Page 138 Joachim Girnth 1468 from Hirschberg
  • The Giant and Jizera Mountains by P.Regell
    • Page 64 Joachim Girnth in 1570, who brought the art of making veils with him from Holland
  • Codex diplomaticus Silesiae Vol. 23–24
    • Page 171 45/1412 Dec. 16, Freystadt Mayor Tyme Girnid in ..., also in another source: The inventories of the non-state archives of Silesia Volume 1,
    • Pages 215, 217 / Girnot, Gyrnhard, Girnth, (Gernoth, Gyrnott)
    • Page 198, 197/1529 July 8th Diocesan priest Gregorius Girnth in Breslau, other source: Gr. Gyrnott 1535, Gr. Gernoth 1544
  • Etymological dictionary of German surnames, delivery 1–10 = first volume = 1957–1960 AJ, CASTARKE = VERLAG; Limburg ad Lahn
    • Page 550 Gladly, ambiguous. 1. ON Gern .., 2. by t = garbage, 3. ÖN Gerner (carnarium) = ossuary
    • Page 551 Gerne (e) t (h), Gerndt, see Gernhard. 1589 Joh.Gernardus from Eisenberg (Sa.)
    • Page 551 Gernhhard (t), Gerne (r) t, The UN Gernhard is ..., p. 780 VN Gernot Irrmuot, Schultheiss zu Wertheim 1344
  • Silesian name book by Hans Bahlow, Holzer Verlag Kitzingen / Main 1953
    • Page 38 The names Gernoth, Gern (o) tke, Gerndt
The book is incomplete at this point! GERNER, GERNERT came and a. in Silesia in the area of ​​Glatz, Wünschelburg, Hirschberg, Sagan , Sorau , Gebhardsdorf , Estherwalde , Schwertau, Sprottau , with the towns of Sprottischwaldau , Niederleschen, Kaltdorf, Mallmitz, Petersdorf, Kleingläsersdorf, Krampf, Ottendorf and Primkenau . Occurrence in Glatz : Chaplain Augustin Franz Gernert, * 1644 in Hotzenplotz, † November 9, 1699 in Altstadt (Olomouc Archdiocese). Hans Bahlow describes on p. 27: "By taking on a secondary-t-, also a Silesian element ..... we have received the subsidiary forms Grunert, Kahlert, Rothert etc. since the 16th century ..." Here one would have can also address the change from Gerner to Gernert.
  • German dictionary of names, 15,000 family and first names explained according to origin and meaning, Hans Bahlow, Gordrom-Verlag 1990
    • Page 168 Gern , Gerner, Gernert (obd.): ÖN and ON
    • Page 168 Gerndt , Gerntke s. Gernot!
    • Page 168 Gernhard (Nürnbg. Würzbg.), Görnhardt ( Bamberg ) is based on older Gernert = Gerner, s. this! See Gehlhardt for Gehler (t), Schweighardt for Schweiker (t), Gemeinhardt for commoner (t).
    • Page 168 Gernoth , Giernoth (Schlesien): An echo of the Nibelungen saga; Gunther, Gernot and Giselher are called Kriemhild's brothers. Contracted: Gernth , Gerndt, Giernth, Gürnth, Gürntke, Gerntke, Gernotke (all with slaw.k-Sufix like Haotke, Hantke), vlg. Bahlow Schl.Nbch S. 38. Gregor Gernoth (Gyrnot, Girnth) 1529/44 Grünberg. The sense of emergency is "fighting crowds" as in Helmnot , Sigenot; younger is the reverse Notger , Notker. Certificates Gernot Swende 1206 Worms, Gernot Snoke 1222 Lorsch, Gernot Ruckenbrot 1235 Nassau, Gernot (farmer) 1263 Neufra, Gernot Gutbrod 1409 Würzburg, Nic. Gernot 1371 Iglau (Gernot as surname).

Gerner - collections of names, finds in archives

  • Gerner (t) in the Alt-Queiskreis Bautzen : State Archive Saxony Dresden, State Archive Bautzen, Bergmann-List Exulanten, Northern Bohemia (see web link)
  • Gerner in Sindolsheim in archives: State Archive Saxony Leipzig and State Archive Baden-Württemberg
  • Gerner (t) in Silesia and Bohemia: Jürgen Gerner private archive, Grünberg Polish State Archive in Sprottischwaldau ; Petersdorf; Schwerta ; Rochlitz et al. Arnau , Czech State Archives
  • Görner, Gerner (t) in Germany, Austria and Bohemia: Collection of Joseph Görner from Reichenbach in Vogtland, over 3000 pages of family trees (original whereabouts unknown), copy in the private archive of Jürgen Gerner
  • Gerner and the like before 1945 in Galicia, Malopolska etc. Eastern Europe of Jewish Faith, Yad Vashem, Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names. As a result of the National Socialist dictatorship of the German Reich, 69 Jewish people named Gerner / Gherner were (verifiably) murdered.

The following southern German collection contains a density of Gerner names between 1589 and 1905 based on document finds.

  • Nobility 104
  • Berolzheim 25
  • Betzenweiler 34
  • Boeblingen 1
  • Dallau 3
  • Eberstadt 34
  • Ehrstaedt 3
  • Ellhofen 1
  • February 50
  • Heinsheim 3
  • Deerlanden 57
  • Hohenstadt 9
  • Hollenbach 53
  • Joellenbeck 31 (North Rhine-Westphalia)
  • London 197
  • Merchingen 50
  • Neustetten 38
  • Pforzheim 8
  • Rauenberg 50
  • Schildesche 9 (NRW)
  • Sennfeld 8
  • Sindolsheim 76
  • Weinberg 9
  • Weisenheim 43
  • Rooms 7

Family association and traditional meeting

1927 Görner-Gerner 27th Family Day.jpg
Görner - Gerner family reunion program from 1927
Görner Familienverbandansteck.jpg
Pin for the Görner-Gerner meeting around 1920


In 1900 a traditional association of Görner - Gerner name bearers was founded in Saxony. The association held large meetings in the Leipzig area with up to 150 participants. The meetings were designed with cultural topics around the Görner / Gerner.

List of personalities named Gerner

Such a list can be found on the Gerner disambiguation page .

  • Funeral sermons for people named Gerner and similar names
    • Heinrich Thomäsen Gerner (1610) Danish Bishop of Viborg
    • Laurentius Gerner (1542-1617) Pastor Großmilkau, sermon to Levin von Bresen on Kotterwitz a. Poltitz

Miscellaneous and written forms of the name

  • One of the oldest breweries in the world with the name Brauerei Gerner , Drei Kronen Brauerei in Straßgiech (mentioned in 1308, in 96110 Scheßlitz)
  • Max Gerner (1907-1945), aircraft manufacturer, all-steel double-decker GII, 1940 Flugzeugbau GmbH in Frankfurt a. M.
  • The Gernerberg in Austria, a mountain peak three kilometers east of Munderfing
  • Gerner Klammweg on the Kneifelspitze near Berchtesgaden
  • Film and book characters named Gerner

literature

  • Hofrath von Eckartshausen: The Gerner family . Copies based on true originals of human characters. Edited by Anton von Haykul. Volume 16, Verlag Mich. Lechner = university bookseller, Vienna 1832, pp. 167 to 182. (books.google.de)
  • Amalie Skram : Lucie , novel of naturalism, love story between the lawyer Gerner and a dancer from Tivoli.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ute Görner, Gunter Görner: Chronicle of the Görner family . tape 1 . Rockstuhl, 2002, ISBN 3-936030-21-9 , pp. 416 .
  2. ↑ Jürgen Gerner: Gerner (family name). Gen-Wiki, November 9, 2015, accessed November 9, 2015 .
  3. ^ Meyers Konversations-Lexikon. Volume 9, p. 548.
  4. ↑ German legal dictionary (DRW) explains Karner, Kerner, Gerner
  5. ↑ De wilde Mann . In: Paul Bahlmann (Ed.): Münsterland fairy tales and legends . achterland, Bocholt / Bredewoort 1998, ISBN 3-933377-30-7 , p. 23, 24 .
  6. ^ Jürgen Gerner: Gernert (family name). November 8, 2008, accessed November 8, 2008 .
  7. ^ Meyers Konversations-Lexikon. Volume 9, p. 0018, from Irmer to Ironie
  8. ↑ books.google.de
  9. ↑ J. Benes: Nemecka Příjmení u Cechu . In: on page 132 G / erhard to K / erhard . tape 1 . Usti nad Labem 1998.
  10. ↑ Professor Dr. Konrad Kunze from Freiburg i. Br. Provided the author and name researcher Jürgen Gerner for a lecture at the Genealogy Day 2003 in Schwerin with statistics on the comparison of the frequency and comparison of the names Gerner / Görner on the basis of telephone connections and four-digit postcode areas.
  11. ↑ Norber Wagner: Etymology and sound history of -not, -nod, -noat in personal names such as Kernot, Kernod etc. In: Ingwäonismen in old German personal names . S. 281 to 288 .
  12. ↑ Ludwig Steub: The Upper German Family Names, p.20 . Reprint 2020 edition. Salzwasser, Frankfurt a. M. 1870, ISBN 978-3-8460-4822-1 .
  13. ↑ Kathrin Dräger: Family names from first names . In: Konrad Kunze, Damaris Nübling (ed.): German Family Atlas . tape 6 . Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-11-042783-7 , pp. 161-173 .
  14. ^ Jürgen Gerner: Chronicle of the Frederician Colony Sprottischwaldau 1776 to 1945 . In: Jürgen Gerner (Ed.): Ortschroniken Lower Silesia . 1st edition. Self-published, Schwerin September 2009, p. 66 . Sprottau City Museum, No. 770 to 773 http://www.muzeumszprotawa.dbv.pl/readarticle.php?article_id=51
  15. ^ Yad Vashem, The Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names: Lists of the Shoah named Gerner. Retrieved November 27, 2019 (English, /, German).
  16. ↑ Carl August Kümmel: Neues Journal für Prediger, pages 195 to 203. Carl August Kümmel, 1810, accessed on December 25, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Laurentius Gerner: An evaluation recipe against death / From the words of the Lord Christ Johan. on the eighth chapter ... Preached at the funeral / of Levin von Bresen ... who fell asleep on January 19th ... / Through the place Pastor Laurentium Gernerum funeral sermon Online edition Halle, Saale: University and State Library Saxony-Anhalt, 2009. University and State Library of Saxony Anhalt, Halle Saale, 1607, accessed on December 27, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Amalie Skram (book): Lucie. In: Film. September 7, 1979, Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  19. ↑ Amalie Skram: Lucie . In: first edition 1888 . Norvik Press, Series B, 2001, ISBN 1-870041-48-8 .

Web link