Show ContentsOechsle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestral home of the Oechsle family is Bavaria. Oechsle is a local name for a person who lived in Franconia, where their name rose to prominence through their involvement in the social and cultural affairs of the area. Their seat and land holdings were in the free canton of Gebuerg. The ancestral home of the Oechsle family is found in the Rhineland. Oechsle is of several possible origins, all of which derive from a common root; the name comes from the Middle High German ochs, meaning "ox." It may have originated from a nickname, referring to "one as stubborn as an ox." Alternatively, the original bearer of the name may have been someone who kept or sold oxen. Finally, the surname may be derived from a place of residence distinguished by a sign; in this case, the name would indicate "one who dwelled in the house with the sign of the ox."

Early Origins of the Oechsle family

The surname Oechsle was first found in the Rhineland, where the Oechsle family became a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times. The earliest known bearer of the name was Hans Ochslin, who was a resident of Waldsee in 1536. Always prominent in social affairs, the young Oechsle family became an integral part of that turbulent region as it emerged to form alliances with other families within the Feudal System and the nation.

Early History of the Oechsle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Oechsle research. Another 155 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1554, 1752, 1802, 1810 and 1821 are included under the topic Early Oechsle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Oechsle Spelling Variations

Many cultural groups lived in the German states in medieval times. Each had its own dialect and traditions, and unique variations of popular names. Low German, which is similar to contemporary Dutch, was spoken in Westphalia. German names are characterized by additions such as regional suffixes and phrases that tell something about the origin or background of its original bearer. Further contributing to the variation in German names was the fact that there were no spelling rules in medieval times: scribes recorded names according to their sound. The recorded spelling variations of Oechsle include Ochs, Ochss, Ochse, Och, Ochsse, Ocks, Ockss, Ockse, Ocksse, Osse (northern Germany), Oexle (Swabia), Oxle (Swabia), Oechsle, Ochsner, Exline, Echslin, Oxle, Ochslein ("little ox") and many more.

Early Notables of the Oechsle family

Prominent among members of the name Oechsle in this period include Peter Ochse from Gieselfeld (around 1554), a member of the Danish branch of the family who moved to Ravensburg where he became a major in the Bavarian army. According to Saxon...
Another 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Oechsle Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Oechsle 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 Oechsle or a variant listed above:

Oechsle Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Conrad Oechsle, aged 16, who arrived in New York in 1854 [1]
  • George Oechsle, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1854 [1]
  • Margare Oechsle, aged 27, who arrived in New York in 1854 [1]
Oechsle Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Placidus Oechsle, who landed in Arkansas in 1906 [1]

Contemporary Notables of the name Oechsle (post 1700) +

  • Gerhard Oechsle, West German bobsledder who competed in the early 1980s
  • Ferdinand Oechsle (1774-1852), German mechanical workshop owner
  • Walter Oechsle (b. 1934), who came from Leutkirch, Germany, to become the vice-president of Putnam International in Boston, the president of a bank in Frankfurt, and the managing director of Readers Digest in Frankfurt


  1. 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)


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