Bethmann Surname History

Origins Available:
Germany

The ancient German region of the Rhineland was the original home of the name Bethmann. Bethmann was a local name, a type of hereditary surname that identified people by the places where they lived. Landowners were the first to use local names, often attaching the prefix "von", meaning "of" or "from", in some cases as a mark of aristocratic birth. Local names are by far the most common style of German hereditary surname. Bethmann was a name for someone who lived in the Rhineland. The Bethmann family emerged during the feudal era, when the Rhineland was controlled by feudal lords and princes.

Early Origins of the Bethmann family

The surname Bethmann was first found in the county of Nassau, where the name could be considered to make a great early contribution to the feudal society which became the backbone of early development in Europe. The earliest known instance of the name dates back to 1430, when Jurgen Bethke is recorded in the "Urkundenbuch der Stadt Oldenburg," the Oldenburg registry. The name became prominent in local affairs and branched into many houses which played important roles in the savage tribal and national conflicts, each group seeking power and status in an ever changing territorial profile. Chronicles suggest that the most ancient branch of the family can be traced to the Netherlands, which they left during the religious strife of the Thirty Year's War for the region of Nassau. The founding father of the prominent Nassau branch is taken to be Simon Moritz Bethmann (d.1725,) who was an administrator in the government of the Prince of Nessau-Weilburg. It was his son, Johann Philipp Bethmann (1715-1793) who founded the renowned bank of Frankfurt, the Bethmann Brothers.

Early History of the Bethmann family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bethmann research. Another 225 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1652, 1701, 1715, 1721, 1782, 1793, 1823, 1827, 1829, 1842, 1849 and 1858 are included under the topic Early Bethmann History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bethmann Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames: in early times, spelling in general, and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized; and later, spellings would change with branching and movement of families. Variations of the name Bethmann include Bethman, Bethemann, Betheman, Bettheman, Betthemann, Bethmman, Bethke, Berthe, Bethe, Bethge and many more.

Early Notables of the Bethmann family

Notables with the name Bethmann during this period were

Konrad Bethmann or Conrad Bethmann (1652-1701) was a German administrator and entrepreneur

Bethmann migration to the United States +

Hundreds of thousands of Europeans, including many Rhinelanders, made the voyage to North America between the 17th and 20th centuries. It was an escape from religious persecution and poverty and also an opportunity for people to start over and own their own land. Most landed at Ellis Island, off New York before moving on to the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, and California. Some also landed in Canada and settled in Ontario, while others headed west to the prairie provinces. A study of passenger and immigration lists has shown a number of people bearing the name of Bethmann, or one of its variants, reaching North America shores very early:

Bethmann Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johann Ludwig Bethmann, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1774

Bethmann Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Marcus Bethmann, who sailed from Bremen to New York in 1864

Contemporary Notables of the name Bethmann (post 1700) +

Sabine Bethmann (b. 1931), German (East Prussian) actress
Alexandre de Bethmann (1805-1871), mayor of Bordeaux from 1867 to 1870
Theobald von Bethmann -Hollweg (1856-1921), appointed Prussian Minister of the Interior in 1905 and in 1907 became secretary of state for the Imperial Home Office, and vice-president of the Prussian ministry. After a turbulent career in politics, Bethmann-Hollweg retired to Hohenfinow and took no further part in the political arena beyond writing his "Reflections on the World War" (1919)
Erich Waldemar Bethmann (b. 1904), prominent scholar and teacher of art and religion, and a noted expert on the Middle East