Surname Zinsmayer - Meaning and Origin
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Zinsmayer: What does the surname Zinsmayer mean?
The last name Zinsmayer is of German origin and is most commonly found in Austria and in southern Germany. It is believed to be derived from the Middle High German words zin and mayer, suggesting a connection to a man who was the mayor of a place, such as a village, town, or city. Alternatively, it could suggest that the original bearer of the name was a tenant farmer, or someone who leased land from its owner. Additionally, some believe that the name may be related to the German word zins, meaning interest.
The original form of the name is Zinßmaier. It is believed that the word may have been developed either through people dropping the ß character from modern German, resulting in the pronunciation sounding similar to zin-meier. Another theory is that regional dialects may have caused the variations in spelling.
Since Zinsmayer is more a descriptive name, it is difficult to pinpoint what the original people with the surname did as their jobs. It is likely that some people were mayors, others were tenant farmers, but others could have been involved in a variety of other activities. Today, many people with the last name Zinsmayer are involved in business, law, academia, or the military.
Order DNA origin analysisZinsmayer: Where does the name Zinsmayer come from?
The last name Zinsmayer is most prevalent today in Switzerland. The surname is believed to have originated in the Swiss Canton of Thurgau, an area in the north-east part of Switzerland along the German border.
In Switzerland, Zinsmayer is most commonly found in Thurgau, Zurich, and Aargau. A small number of people with the name are also found in the Swiss Cantons of Bern, Basel-Landschaft, and Schaffhausen.
Outside of Switzerland, the last name Zinsmayer is found in Germany, primarily in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria. A small number of people with this last name can also be found in the United States, especially in larger cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
The Zinsmayer surname appears to have been relatively uncommon in the past, though a few people with the name can be found in records dating back to the Middle Ages. It is likely that the Zinsmayer name has become more common in recent years as a result of increased migration and intermarriage between Switzerland and the rest of Europe.
Variations of the surname Zinsmayer
The surname Zinsmayer has various variants, spellings, and surnames of the same origin. Back in the days when most families’ surnames were spelled phonetically, some of the earliest known spellings of this name was Zinssmayer, Zinsmeyer, Zintsmayer, and Zintsmeyer. The spelling Zinsmayer is German in origin. Another surname variant found in Germany is Zinsmüller.
Zinssmayer is the most prominent of the variants found in Austria, Switzerland, and Hungary. Zintsmüller is a variant that can be found in some German speakers in the United States, and this is a spelling which follows German pronunciation guidelines. There is also a Zinssmuller variant found in some parts of Europe, with spellings in the Netherlands including Zinsmaier, Zinsmeier, and Zinsmier.
This name is found in France in the form of Zinssmair, Zinssmeyr, and Zinssmüyr, as well as with the occasional Zinsmayr variant. It is also found in Italy, Romania, and Russia, with variants including Zinsmeyr, Zinsmyer, and Zinsmeier in the very old days of that region.
In the United States, the surname variants seen most often are Zinsmeir, Zinsmeyer, Zinsmier, and Zinsmoyer. All of these variants are believed to have been derived from the German language over a period of centuries, evolving into more modern spellings as time went by.
Famous people with the name Zinsmayer
- Andrew Zinsmayer: American entrepreneur who co-founded an augmented reality technology company. 2.Donell Zinsmayer: German rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes in the German Rugby League Championship.
- Norbert Zinsmayer: American cellist and professor at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.
- Thomas Zinsmayer: German political scientist and the founder of the Youth Research Institute in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
- Peter Zinsmayer: nineteen-time Austrian Alpine skiing champion and World Cup competitor in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
- Marjorie Zinsmayer: American artist and designer, and two-time winner of the Art Directors Club of New York award.
- Kurt Zinsmayer: German actor and composer, best known for his role in the 2011 film, The Raven.
- Charlotte Zinsmayer: Austrian actress, best known for her role in the 2010 film, The Secret Beyond the Door.
- Jakob Zinsmayer: Swiss cross-country skier and bronze medalist at the 2012 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
- Celine Zinsmayer: Austrian singer who won the Austrian Music Award in 2007 for her album, I.