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Werner History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Werner History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

The German surname Werner emerged in the lands that formed the modern state of Lower Saxony, which is presently bordered by the North Sea, the Hartz mountains and the Elbe and Ems rivers. Lower Saxony was previously a medieval Saxon dukedom.

The name can be traced to the popular medieval pet-form Wezelo, which was a common abbreviation of the Christian name Wernher, and the surname came to denote 'a son of Wezelo'. Wernher was a very popular choice of Christian name in Medieval Germany, as it had been the name of many famous Crusaders. This Christian name was popular among their ranks and this ensured the popularity of the name. Most personal names were abbreviated and Wezelo was a common abbreviation of Wernher. The name Werner translates from German to mean "protector."

Bruder (Brother) Wernher (fl. 13th century) was an Austrian poet who wrote Middle High German social or political songs. He took part in the Sixth Crusade (1228-1229) under Emperor Frederick II as in one poem, he was highly critical of Pope Gregory IX for the war he instigated against Frederick II in 1228.

Wernher von Homberg (also Werner; Hohenberg, 1284-1320) was a knight in the service Emperor Henry VII, and later of Frederick the Fair. Some of his poems appear in the Codex Manesse (c. 1340.)

Early Origins of the Werner family

The surname Werner was first found in Lower Saxony, where the family gained a significant reputation for their contribution to the emerging mediaeval society. Branches of this estimable family held estates near Hanover, at Trebitsch in Silesia, and at Tolitz in Pomerania. The oldest form of the name is Werneke or Werner, but, in northern areas especially around Hamburg, it changed to Warner by around 1300. Chronicles first mention Herman Werneking of Hanover in 1497.

Early History of the Werner family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Werner research. Another 189 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1490, 1541, 1637, 1646, 1687, 1693, 1710, 1718, 1750, 1759, 1761, 1766, 1768, 1791, 1805, 1817, 1818, 1823 and 1829 are included under the topic Early Werner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Werner Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Werner, Wernher, Warner, Warners, Werners, Wernere, Wernerer, Waerner, Warncke, Warnke (Hamburg), Werneke, Warnken, Warnke, Warneking (Westphalia) and many more.

Early Notables of the Werner family

Notables of the time included

Zacharias Werner (1768-1823), who was a controversial dramatist. Abraham Gottlieb Werner (1750-1817) was a famous mineralogist and is considered to be the founder of geology. He influenced generations...

Werner Ranking

In the United States, the name Werner is the 1,056^th most popular surname with an estimated 27,357 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Werner is ranked the 2,410^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,500 - 3,000 people with that name. 2

Werner migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Werner Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Christoff Werner, who immigrated to America with his wife and son in 1709
Hendrig Werner, who landed in New York in 1709 3
Maria Magdalena Werner, aged 23, who arrived in New York in 1710 3
Christopher Werner, who arrived in New York State in 1710 at the age of 35
Christopher Werner, aged 35, who landed in New York in 1710 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Werner Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Carl Werner, aged 23, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1805 3
Friedrich Werner, aged 60, who arrived in America in 1839 3
Karl Wilhelm Werner, aged 42, who arrived in America in 1839 3
John Werner, aged 39, who arrived in St Louis, Missouri in 1840 3
Balthasar Werner, aged 23, who landed in St Louis, Missouri in 1840 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Werner Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Nels Nelsen Werner, who arrived in Wisconsin in 1914 3

Werner migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Werner Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Conrade Werner, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749-1752
Elizabeth Werner, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749-1752

Contemporary Notables of the name Werner (post 1700) +

Peter H. Werner (1947-2023), American Academy Award winning and four-time Primetime Emmy nominated film and television director, known for Moonlighting (1985-1986), LBJ: Early Years (1987), and In the Region of Ice (1976)
Mary Leach Werner, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Louisiana, 2008 4
Theodore B. Werner (1892-1989), American politician
Buddy Werner (1936-1964), American alpine skier in the 1950s and 1960s
Eberhard Werner (1966-2023), German anthropologist and linguist from the region of Swabia
Götz Wolfgang Werner (1944-2022), German businessman and popular advocate of universal basic income who had an estimated his net worth to be around €1.1 billion, making him the 109th-richest German
Markus Werner (b. 1944), German-speaking Swiss writer
C. W. Otto Werner (1879-1936), German physician who discovered a premature aging condition he named Werner syndrome
Anton von Werner (1843-1915), German painter
André Werner (b. 1960), German composer
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Werner family +

Bismarck

Kurt Werner (1922-1941), German Matrosengefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 5
Alfred Werner (1917-1941), German Matrosenhauptgefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 5

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 2016, January 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details