Following a family line back in German records becomes more complex for genealogists when some husbands change their surnames to use a Hofname. These males might even have more than two surnames in a lifetime. Researchers first need to understand how this came about, when and where, as well as what a Hofname was.
The Hofname system was a feudal concept. It may have begun as early as the year 800 and was officially abolished by Napoleon in 1806. Thus, all our immigrant ancestors arriving after 1806 should have normally inherited surnames. But the German genealogical researcher working back in time to generations in the 18th century and earlier may encounter the Hofname system.
Gradual feudal reforms in the 15th –18th centuries allowed larger feudal farmers an “inheritance” to preserve their greater investment in their land. Those larger farmers still didn’t own their land, only leased it in perpetuity as long as they complied with other feudal rules.
What was a Hofname?
A Hofname was the inheritable surname of the family managing a larger farm, not the farm’s name! Even though Hofname translates to “farm name” in English, it was not the name of the dwelling, but rather the surname of the family who managed the farming operation. Nevertheless, it is possible some German records may refer to the farm, as “the Klocke farm,” even if Mr. Klocke only managed it. It really was the farm where Mr. Klocke lived and worked.
The Hofname system was based on inheritance law. Because all German states were independent countries with differing laws, most did not have the Hofname system. Their inheritance laws either called for the eldest son to inherit or the farm to be equally divided among all surviving children.
This system existed only in the northwestern German states of Oldenburg, northern and western Hannover, northern Westphalia, Lippe-Detmold, and part of Schamburg-Lippe.
In these areas, the eldest living CHILD (not son) usually inherited the right to manage larger farms. If possible, when researching in these areas, a genealogist will want to try to learn the exact inheritance laws of the time for their particular state, as they may have differed from region to region.
The use of Hofname applied to larger farmers only. In the feudal era, all farmers were ranked. In the only published English-language information found on Hofname, Dr. Roger Minert described farm rank terminology from largest to smallest in Osnabrück as:
- Vollerbe (Hofname, titled Colon; c. 40–160 acres of mixed land)
- Halberbe (half the farm size, paid half the taxes to the lord)
- Erbkötter (a non-inheriting son’s small plot)
- Markkötter (gardener, relied on cottage industry for income)[1]
Don’t expect the same terms in each Hofname state. In Lippe-Detmold, the farm rank terminology encountered was:
(1) Strassenkötter (Hofname), (2) Grosskötter, (3) Mittelkötter, (4) Kleinkötter.
When the eldest living child inherited, a daughter, rather than a son, might inherit a farm depending on who was the eldest and still living at the time of the parent’s death or retirement. If a son inherited, the surname passed to his family as usual. When a daughter inherited, at marriage she retained her maiden surname and her children, as well as her husband, took her surname. Initially the husband added her surname after his existing surname, becoming: his surname (such as Weber) “called by” hers (such as Schmidt). In records, look for terms meaning called by: gennant (German for “known as”) or modo (Latin for “recently known as”). In this case, you might see the husband’s name listed as: Johann Weber genannt Schmidt.
How will we know it could be a Hofname situation?
Clues in the German records pointing to the Hofname include:
- A wife’s maiden name was the same as the husband’s surname. Verify they weren’t cousins.
- All the children took their mother’s surname.
- Farm titles were used, such as Colon or Strassenkötter, instead of or in addition to a new male surname.
- Brothers or parents alter their surnames.
When beginning with German parish records, researchers carefully gather all available records for everyone in the family. But in a parish, we may find only one record using the gennant naming with the male’s original and new surnames. We don’t want to miss the name change or we’ll follow the wrong family!
- A marriage record may indicate the name-change only indirectly. When Wilhelmina Klocke inherited and married, her husband became J. Heinrich Ridder genannt Klocke. Their marriage did not state this directly, instead it gave a clue, calling him a “Strassenkötter.”
- The baptism of the couple’s first child then may be the only record showing the father’s original surname.
What Questions Should We Ask?
Start asking questions as soon as you suspect a Hofname. If you suspect Wilhelmine Klocke might be inheriting a farm because at marriage she had the same surname as her husband, ask:
- Were they cousins?
- Who were her parents?
- When did her father die?
- Was she the first child?
- If not, how could she inherit the farm?
- Is there any indication her father managed a Hofname farm or used a title?
- Can we locate deaths for all her siblings, or at least all born before her?
Collecting deaths of siblings is essential to determine who remained the eldest child in a family at the time the parents died or retired. Ms. Klocke was the 4th child in her family; her elder siblings must be eliminated.
The first child’s baptism often yields the most accurate parental names.
- Contrast Jost Heinrich Ridder’s 1778 baptism—first son of “Herman Diederich Korff modo Ridder” & Ms. Ridder inheritor of a farm
- With his brother’s 1780 baptism—the previously mentioned Johann Heinrich Ridder who married Wilhelmina Klocke—which named his father simply “Herman Diederich Ridder.”
Did the Rules Vary?
Extended rules under this system also varied by German state. Another feudal rule allowed the Hofname farmer to purchase releases from the lord for his younger, non-inheriting sons to “marry out.” Thus, some non-inheriting sons obtained their own farm management by marrying an equivalent-rank farm’s inheriting daughter and changing their surnames. This was expensive and not always possible for every son. Brothers who remained on their sibling’s Hofname farm may add the suffix “mann” to their surname to distinguish them from the managing family. A retiring parent was known as “Alte” plus the Hofname surname.
Then there was the problem of continuing the inheritance if the originally inheriting spouse died first. This rule may also vary from state to state. The “married in” male spouse lost management of his wife’s inherited farm if his wife pre-deceased him AND their eldest surviving child was old enough to marry and manage the farm. The “married in” male then had a choice. To remain a farm manager, he could seek another same-rank farm widow, remarry, change to a third surname, and help raise her children to inherit her farm. Or he officially retired to a smaller cottage on his former Hofname farm and advised his inheriting child and spouse.
Be an excellent genealogist, extend your search beyond parish records. Obtain other German records covering inheritance to further verify a Hofname family.
About the Author
Carol Whitton, CG, specializes in German genealogy and U.S. genealogy. She speaks regularly at national, regional, and local genealogy conferences. Currently she’s St. Louis Genealogical Society’s Project Director and co-leader of the German Special Interest Group. Carol graduated from Germanic Research Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, Gen-Fed, and Virginia Institute of Genealogical Research. She has written articles for the NGS Quarterly and local genealogical publications. After a thirty-year career as an international agricultural economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Carol worked two post-career years as a genealogist for the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
Learn more about StLGS. Become an StLGS member here.
Source
[1] Minert, Roger P., “Surname Changes in Northwestern Germany,” German Genealogical Digest, v.16, no.1, spring 2000, p. 8. For more information order from a nearby genealogical library.