Durr History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

The ancestral home of the Durr family was in the German state of Bavaria. Durr is a local name for a person who lived on a dry, barren land. The name Durr is derived from the Old German word durri and the German word dürre, which mean barren or infertile.

Early Origins of the Durr family

The surname Durr was first found in Franconia, where the name Duerer could be considered to make a great early contribution to the feudal society which became the backbone of early development of Europe. The name became prominent in local affairs and branched into many houses which played important roles in the tribal and national conflicts, each group seeking power and status in an ever changing territorial profile.

Early History of the Durr family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Durr research. Another 179 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1471, 1528, 1690, 1784 and 1856 are included under the topic Early Durr History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Durr Spelling Variations

In the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Durr include Durr, Duerer, Duere, Duerr, Duer, Dur, Durre, Duerre, Dueren, Duerman and many more.

Early Notables of the Durr family

Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Durr Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Durr Ranking

In the United States, the name Durr is the 4,096^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Durr is ranked the 8,873^rd most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. 2

Durr migration to the United States +

Between the mid-17th and mid-20th centuries, German settlers arrived in North America by the thousands. Persecution based on religion and poverty were great motivators in this large-scale migration. So too was the opportunity for tenant farmers to own their own land. Ample land and opportunity awaited the settlers who went to such states as Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California, as well as Ontario and the prairie provinces of Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Durr or a variant listed above:

Durr Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Loerens Durr, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1728 3
Sebastian Durr, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1728 3
Hans Georg Durr, who arrived in America in 1747 3
Michael Durr, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1748 3
Jacob Durr, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1749 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Durr Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Conr Durr, who landed in North America in 1832-1849 3
George Durr, aged 34, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1834 3
Alexander Durr, who settled in Philadelphia in 1840
Carl Durr, aged 22, who landed in New York in 1854 3
Margar Durr, aged 24, who arrived in New York in 1854 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Durr (post 1700) +

Virginia Durr, American Democratic Party politician, National Democratic Candidate for Presidential Elector for Alabama, 1968 4
Peter W. Durr, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 1904 4
Clifford Judkins Durr (b. 1899), American Democratic Party politician, Member, Federal Communications Commission, 1941-48 4
Josef "Sepp" Dürr (1953-2023), German farmer and politician, member of Alliance 90/The Greens, he served in the Landtag of Bavaria from 1998 to 2018
Walther Dürr (1932-2018), German musicologist
Alfred Dürr (1918-2011), German musicologist
Clifford Durr, Birmingham, Alabama lawyer, known for defending political activists, who represented Rosa Parks in Federal court after the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Historic Events for the Durr family +

SS Atlantic

W. H. Durr, who was traveling aboard the ship "SS Atlantic" when it struck rocks off Nova Scotia in 1873, died in the sinking

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html