South Tyrolean family names
South Tyrolean family names have largely the same characteristics in terms of distribution and origin as in the state of Tyrol, but show not only the usual regional differences but also specific differences compared to names in other German- speaking areas . According to a study by the State Office for Statistics, there were around 46,000 different family names in South Tyrol in 2010 (in 2004 there were 37,000).
The most common family names
The most common family names in South Tyrol are:
- Mair 4438
- Hofer 4075
- Pichler 3507
- Kofler 3376
- Gruber 2901
- Pircher 2483
- Gasser 2315
- Egger 1944
- Thaler 1904
- Gamper 1891
In contrast to the Federal Republic of Germany, but just like in Austria and Bavaria , these ten ranks are not entirely occupied by professional names , i.e. names that are derived from a profession, but - with the exception of Mair and Pircher - by home names ( Hofer can also be called Professional name can be interpreted). The first nine names all have a Bavarian root. Gamper goes back to the Latin campus ('field') and can be Ladin as well as the Tyrolean dialect (south-central Bavarian-western variant to south Bavarian).
The name Senoner is most widespread in the Ladin-speaking valleys , but only in 34th place nationwide. There are some surnames that would be classified as German because of their ending. The name Moroder z. B. the Ladin word mureda ('old house, masonry', i.e. German equivalent 'Steinhauser') is the basis. There are also a number of names that were Germanized under duress from the 18th century and are based on an originally Ladin name or have been translated from such a name. These include B. the names Pichler (originally Col ), Gasser (originally Plazer ), Thaler (originally Val ) and Senoner (originally Zanon ).
The most common Italian surname in South Tyrol, Rossi, is ranked 38th, but the number of Italian surnames is very high, as their bearers or their ancestors come from different parts of Italy. The Italian family names did not increase significantly until the time of fascism as a result of the immigration of Italians. At that time there was also an involuntary Italianization of German family names, which was later usually reversed.
Among the 40,000 surnames mentioned, those of immigrants from non-EU countries and from Eastern Europe recorded by the registration office are numerically relevant.
In the neighboring Italian regions of South Tyrol one can find German, often Italianized, family names adapted to the Italian spelling; z. B. Eccher for Egger , Toller for Taler , Poier for Bauer , Tomasi for Thomaser , Mittempergher for Mitterberger , Anegi for Anegg , Pocher for Bacher , Folgheraiter for follower rider , etc. In some cases, their porters speak Italian as their mother tongue. Some of them come from the (almost) extinct German language islands outside South Tyrol or are descendants of Austrian officials in the former Welschtirol .
Farm names
The name of the farm is of particular importance in Tyrol . The often widely scattered farms still have names that in some cases can be traced back to the 12th century. In the first half of the 2nd millennium, the court residents were nicknamed the court name, which then became the official family name; this process lasted well into the 17th century. Even before the 16th century, different inheritance rights were in force in Tyrol , which resulted in a different stability of the court names in the individual parts of the country.
The farm name did not always become a family name, so that in some places at the turn of the 3rd millennium farmers still had a farm name next to their family name, but not for official purposes; however, it can have priority over the family name within the village community.
The farm itself can be named after the place of residence (Talhof), after a first name (Lanzingerhof, after Lanzo), after the characteristics of a person (Senfter, the gentle), after an official status or occupation.
literature
- ASTAT: Territorial distribution of surnames - population register 2010. Autonomous Province of Bozen-Südtirol.
- Josef Tarneller : Tyrolean family names. Commission publisher of the bookstore Vogelweider, Bozen 1923. ( digitized online from Tessmann )
- Karl Finsterwalder : Tyrolean family names. University publishing house Wagner, Innsbruck 1977.
- Egon Kühebacher : Origin and history of the family names of the Pustertal. Reimmichl's Volkskalender 2002, Verlaganstalt Athesia, Bozen 2001, pp. 97–116.
Web links
- ASTAT online cartography: Territorial distribution of surnames as a percentage of the resident population of the South Tyrolean communities
- State Office for Statistics, Province of Bolzano
- RiGen - Ritten Genealogy (surname statistics)
- South Tyrolean family names in Wikia