Diefenbach History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

The ancient German region of the Rhineland was the original home of the name Diefenbach. Diefenbach 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. Diefenbach was a name for someone who lived in the village of Tiefendorff in Bavaria. The original bearer of this name was from Tiefendorff and the name was adopted by the family after they migrated to the Rhineland. During the Middle Ages, surnames were often derived from the village, city, region or state of the first person who used the name.

Early Origins of the Diefenbach family

The surname Diefenbach was first found in the Rhineland, where the family emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families of the region. From the 13th century the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation. Chronicles first mention Heinrich Diefenbach of Heidelberg in 1200.

Early History of the Diefenbach family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Diefenbach research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1582, 1620, 1653, 1737 and 1776 are included under the topic Early Diefenbach History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Diefenbach 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 Diefenbach include Diefenbach, Tiefenbach, Tieffenbach, Tiefenback, Dieffenback, Diefenbacker, Diefenbaecker, Diefenbaeker, Diefenbacher, Dieffenbach, Diepenback, Diepenbecker, Diefenbecker, Deefenback, Diefebacher and many more.

Early Notables of the Diefenbach family

Notables with the name Diefenbach during this period were Rudolf von Tiefenbach (1582-1653), Habsburgian military leader who lead the 1st Division of the Imperial Army in 1620; Johann Christian Tieffenbach, who was ennobled in...
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Diefenbach Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Diefenbach 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 Diefenbach, or one of its variants, reaching North America shores very early:

Diefenbach Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

B. Diefenbach, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1764

Diefenbach Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Michael Diefenbach, aged 26, who arrived in Missouri in 1844 1
Sabine Diefenbach, who arrived in Texas in 1844 1
Jak Diefenbach, who landed in America in 1851 1
Phil Heinr Diefenbach, who arrived in America in 1852 1
Phil Jak Diefenbach, who landed in America in 1853 1
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Diefenbach (post 1700) +

Lorenz Diefenbach (1806-1883), German philologist

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)