Laut History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

The surname Laut is a German occupational surname that evolved in the region known as the Rhineland. Germans at first used only one name, but population growth and increased travel in medieval times caused confusion between people of the same name, forcing the people to adopt hereditary surnames. These names often identified people by the kind of work they did. Laut is a name for a musician who played the lute. Occupational names that were derived from the common trades of the medieval era transcended European cultural and linguistic boundaries. This phenomenon is demonstrated by names such as the German name Schumaker, which means a maker of shoes, the Ashkenazic Jewish name Zimmerman, which means carpenter, the Polish and Jewish name Stolarski, which means joiner, the Dutch name Schuyler, which means teacher and the Italian name Calderone, which means seller of spices.

Early Origins of the Laut family

The surname Laut was first found in the Rhineland, where the name could be considered to have made a great contribution to the feudal society which became the backbone of modern Europe. The name became prominent in local affairs and branched into many houses which played important roles in the national conflicts, in which each group sought power and status in an ever changing territorial profile.

Early History of the Laut family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Laut research. Another 162 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1400 and 1706 are included under the topic Early Laut History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Laut 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 Laut include Lauterer, Laut, Lauten, Lauth, Lautmann, Lautemann, Lautermann, Lauteman and many more.

Early Notables of the Laut family

Notables with the name Laut during this period were

Philipp Valentin von Lauter, high-commander of the fortress at Wuerzburg, who was raised to the nobility (Reichsfreiherrnstand) in 1706

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

Laut Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Philipp Laut, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1838
Jacob Laut, who landed in St Clair County, Ili in 1861 1

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)