Meckel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

The German province known as the Rhineland is the ancestral home of the Meckel family. The German people originally used only one name, but as the population grew there was often confusion between people of the same name. This required people to adopt hereditary surnames. Many people took surnames based on nicknames - sometimes known as eke-names - that described certain personal characteristics. Meckel is a name for a person who was round and plump. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favored style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character.

Early Origins of the Meckel family

The surname Meckel was first found in Cologne, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times. Chronicles first mention Jeckl Mock (Mockl) of Iglau in 1359. It's literal meaning in Old-German was "plump." Always prominent in social affairs, the name became an integral part of that turbulent region as it emerged to form alliances with other families within the feudal system.

Early History of the Meckel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Meckel research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1722, 1760 and 1764 are included under the topic Early Meckel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Meckel 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 Meckel include Mock, Moeck, Moek, Moecke, Moeke, Moekel, Moeckel, Moekl, Moeckl, Mockl, Mockler, Moeckel, Mockler, Muckler and many more.

Early Notables of the Meckel family

Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Meckel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Meckel migration to the United States +

The great European flow of migration to North America, which began in the middle of the 17th century and continued into the 20th century, was particularly attractive to those from the Rhineland who wished to escape either poverty or religious persecution. Many of those who left the Rhineland to seek their fortunes in the prosperous and free New World settled in the major urban centers of the United States and Canada. In the United States, the settlers from the Rhineland passed through immigration centers like that of Ellis Island, most of them moving on to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, California, and New York. In Canada, the majority of Rhinelanders settled in Ontario and the prairie provinces. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many important settlers to North America bearing the name Meckel, or one of its variants above:

Meckel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johan Christoph Meckel, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1737 1
Christian Meckel, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1749 1

Meckel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Frederick Meckel, aged 18, who arrived in Galveston, Tex in 1845 aboard the ship "Herschel" 1
Joh. Heinrich Meckel, aged 53, who landed in Texas in 1845 aboard the ship "Herschel" 1
Hugo Meckel, who arrived in Galveston, Tex in 1846 aboard the ship "Creole" 1
John George Meckel, aged 41, who arrived in Galveston, Tex in 1845 aboard the ship "Herschel" 1
John Philip Meckel, aged 32, who landed in Galveston, Tex in 1845 aboard the ship "Herschel", he died in 1847 1
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Meckel (post 1700) +

Vernon E. Meckel, American politician, Mayor of Hays, Kansas, 1953 2
Helmut Meckel (1917-1943), German Luftwaffe ace, recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Christoph Meckel (b. 1935), German author and graphic artist
Johann Friedrich Meckel the Elder (1724-1774), German anatomist
Johann Friedrich Meckel the Younger (1781-1833), German anatomist, eponym of the Meckel syndrome
Klemens Wilhelm Jacob Meckel (1842-1905), Prussian general, foreign advisor to the government of Meiji period

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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html