Surname Zinggrebe - Meaning and Origin
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Zinggrebe: What does the surname Zinggrebe mean?
The last name Zinggrebe is of German origin. It is a variant of the name Zingerle, derived from the old German word Zinger meaning "bird-catcher". The prefix ‘Grebe’ is an alternate form of the word ‘Krabbe’ meaning "crab". This suggests that the surname may have been used to identify a person by occupation who worked with birds, specifically with ‘crabs’—trapping birds and selling them as food.
The surname Zinggrebe is found mainly in Bavaria and Austria, where it first appeared in the twelfth century with records of the use of the surname in the city of Nürnberg. Early records of the surname include Georg Zingre, 1471 and Matthaus Zinger, 1486.
The Zinggrebe family heraldry is particularly distinctive. It is a red shield with a blue "Y-shaped" stripe which symbolizes the specialty skills of the Zinggrebe family in professional bird-catching.
The Zinggrebe surname is still common today. With estimated numbers of those with the surname worldwide at around 4,000, there is a strong indication that Zinggrebe is a surname with deep roots in Europe.
Order DNA origin analysisZinggrebe: Where does the name Zinggrebe come from?
The last name Zinggrebe is most commonly found in Germany today. It first appeared in records in Germany during the 1600s when the Thirty Years War began. Families living in Germany adopted the name to identify themselves and differentiate themselves from others.
The name can also be found in Poland, the Czech Republic, and some areas of Austria. In the United States, the name is much rarer, with fewer than 2,000 people bearing the Zinggrebe surname in the U.S.
Most of those bearing the name live in the northern Mid-west states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. However, the name is not concentrated in any one state, with at least some people bearing this surname in each of the states.
In Germany, people bearing the Zinggrebe name usually come from the northern part of the country. This includes the states of Lower Saxony, Berlin and Brandenburg. The Zinggrebe family can also trace their roots in areas of East Prussia, which is now located within the Polish-Lithuanian border.
People with the Zinggrebe surname have gone on to lead successful lives in several fields, including politics, medicine, business, and the military. The most famous Zinggrebe family member is Oswald Zinggrebe, a statesman and politician who served in the German Reichstag as a social-democratic politician from 1930-1933.
The last name Zinggrebe remains common in Germany today. It has even spread to other parts of the world, though it is not as widespread as it is in Germany.
Variations of the surname Zinggrebe
The surname Zinggrebe is a Germanic surname, derived from two words, 'zingen' meaning to sing and 'grebe' meaning a grebe, a type of water bird. This surname can be found with many variant spellings and forms in different countries.
In Germany, the variants of the surname Zinggrebe are Zingrebe, Zinggreve, Zinggref, Zinggrab, Zingand, Zingerbie and Zingerbia.
In the Netherlands the variants are Zingerbe, Zingrebe, Zinggrebee and Zingerbee.
In Denmark, the most common variant is Zingrebent, while in Sweden the variants are Zinggref and Zingreben.
In the United States the surname is often anglicized to Zingrave, Zinggrav, Zingrab, Zingerb and Zingerbae.
Other variants which are common across the globe, but not specific to any one country, are Zinggrab, Zingerby and Singerby.
The surnames of Zinger, Singer and Zingerle are all related to the name Zinggrebe, and thought to be variants which are more common in North America and the United Kingdom.
In recent years, due to the ease of international travel and migration, the variants of this surname have become increasingly scattered all over the world.
Famous people with the name Zinggrebe
- Victoria Zinggrebe: German actress
- Richard Zinggrebe: German opera singer and director
- Margaret Zinggrebe: American singer-songwriter
- Henry Zinggrebe: German educator and theologian
- William Zinggrebe: Austrian painter
- Jutta Zinggrebe: German artist and graphic designer
- Jürgen Zinggrebe: German Olympic weightlifter and triple jump athlete
- Sabine Zinggrebe: German Olympic weightlifter
- Johann Zinggrebe: German ophthalmologist
- Claus Zinggrebe: Austrian chemist