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About the Weinland family name
Spelling variations of the Weinland surname found in Alsace, in Lorraine
and in Saarland
Weinland(t), Weyland(t)
and Weiland(t) are the different spellings of my ancestors's
surname that I have come across up to now in the archives of Alsace, of Lorraine,
of Saarland and of Rhineland-Palatinate (1648-1997). The place where my ancestors
originated from is Dehlingen (440 inhabitants
in 1776; nowadays 361 inhabitants), a little village in a northwestern area
of Alsace called Alsace bossue (Hilly Alsace / krummes Elsass).
At this time, the village belonged to the lordship of Diemeringen, like the
neighbouring village of Ratzwiller. Before 1666, Dehlingen was the place where my ancestor
Hans Jacob Weyland lived and worked as a blacksmith. The surname of my
ancestors was sometimes changed to Weinland in the parish books of
Mimbach when Hans Caspar Weyland/Weinland, a son of Hans Jacob,
moved to this place of Saarland and settled there as a cartwright, after having left Dehlingen
between 1682 and 1684 for unknown reasons.
Today in Europe, the family names Weinland(t), Weyland(t) and
Weiland(t) are mainly found in Germany, in France,
in Belgique and in Luxembourg. In Germany, these surnames are more frequently found
in Saarland and in the southern part of Rhineland-Palatinate
(1185 entries in the telephone directory), then in the northern part of Rhineland-Palatinate
and in the south of Westphalia (775 entries). In the other regions of Germany, these surnames
are spread almost unvaryingly (between 300 and 450 entries for each region).
Weinland/Weyland/Weiland
in Germany
(# of entries in the telephone directory of 1997)
In France, these family names are almost only found in Lorraine (207 entries in the telephone directory
of the departement of Moselle and 20 entries for the departement of Meurthe et Moselle) and in
Alsace (26 entries for the departement of Bas-Rhin). In Luxembourg, there are 202
Weinland/Weyland/Weiland entries in the telephone directory and
52 entries in Belgium.
(The figures of the map are the entries from the telephone directories for France and Luxembourg in January 1997)
Other possible variations of the surname
In France, Veiland(t), Vel(l)and(t) and
Wel(l)and also exist, and in the United Kingdom there
are some Wayland. The origin of this name goes back as far as the
fourteenth century.
On the opposite side of the Atlantic, the Wyland,
Wil(l)and, Wineland or Windland surnames might also
derive from the Weinland/Weyland/Weiland names.
(The figures on the map are the Weinland/Weyland/Weiland births that were recorded in France between 1891 and 1990)
The origins of the name
Among the first known spellings of the name there are Wielant in 1301,
Welant in 1356, Weylandt in 1497. Also in 1301,
Weland(es) = Weiland(us)
Appearing in 715, Weland or Wieland, is the smith of the heroic saga,
whose name originates from the old Northern German word 'vêl' (art work).
(Die Deutschen Familiennamen, Albert Heintze, 1914)
According to the Deutsches Namenlexikon by Hans Bahlow:
- Weiland
is a younger form for Weinand (Winand) or Wieland; cf. In Plauen 1524 Blasius Wiland
(Weiland), in Pirna 1352 Hans Wynand (later Weynand).
- Weinland: see Weiland
- Weyland: see Weiland
- Weigand (Upper German-Middle German, LowerGerman Wiegand): from Middle High
German "wîgant" (warrior, hero) (frequent in the medieval epic Nibelungenlied), also popular as
family name (especially in Hesse, with nickname "Witzel"): Wigant Cleynod, 1325 near Wetzlar,
Wigand von Büchleins, Glatz 1328, Wiegand Spiess, printer in Eltville, Weigandt Zigler, Freiberg 1452, Weigand Puntschuech, Tyrol 1459. Still 1588 in Kreuznach: Wigand Spanheim. Nicknames are
Weigel and Witzel; Weigt is Silesian; corrupted Weigang (Hans Weigang, Grünberg 1520), several in Glatz region.
- Wieland the story of Wiland, Wieland, the most artistic smith, was still known
and told in the late Middle Ages. Cf. in Freiburg 1341: "Wieland der Schmied". In Liegnitz 1333
Master Wiland (founding builder of the Peter and Paul Church); in Esslingen 1301 Konrad Wielant:
in Greifsw. 1374 Mathius Weland.
According to the Etymologisches
Wörterbuch der Deutschen Familiennamen,
de Josef Karlmann Brechenmacher,
Weinland is a name that is given to someone who comes from a wine
growing area (in 1586 Andres Weinland from Kirchheim).
Weiland derives from the old given name
Wieland (in 1588 Herm. Weiland of Wesel a. Niederrhein
- In 1524 Blasius Wyland of Plauen = 1525 Bl. Weilant).
The Weyland family name seems to have no
links with the word weyland (deceased,
defunct) that can be often found in the church books and that comes
from the word 'Weile' which means 'rest'.
The building of the name might have the following origins:
- Name of someone from a wine growing region (Weinland)
- vel (= artwork, trick) and the and participle
(Weiland, Weland, Wieland)
- wig (= fight) and nand (= bold, daring)
(Weigand, Wignand, Wiegand, Wienand)
Access to my Weinland/Weyland datafile
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