Old family names of German origin in Rakamaz

Abstract

Old family names of German origin in Rakamaz  

Rakamaz today is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, Hungary. At the beginning of the 18th century it became almost depopulated. Between 1729 and 1734, Germans of Roman Catholic religion were settled here. They bore altogether 134 surnames, which are analysed in the paper according to their semantic contents. 1. Surnames originating from the personal name of an ancestor (Balthasser, Hörling, Eringsmann). 2. Surnames indicating the place of origin (Burgund, Berger ~ Perger, Deringer ~ Teringer ~ Türinger). 3. Surnames indicating an occupation or an office (Bader, Mesner, Schecht). 4. Surnames indicating a personal characteristic (Durst, Knodel, Ling ~ Link). 5. Surnames motivated by several distinct factors (Besel, Haas, Scherflek). Only some of the surnames presented here have been preserved until today, since many families changed their German surnames into Hungarian ones in the past centuries.