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![Show Contents]() Zant History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 Germany
The bountiful region surrounding the Rhine river is the birthplace of the name Zant. A single name was, at one time, all that people needed. However, increasing ease of travel and the burgeoning populations forced people to adopt a hereditary surname to set themselves apart from others. A common form of surname created in the Rhineland was the local name. Originally denoting the proprietorship of the village or estate, the German preposition von, which means from or of, was used with local names. The surname Zant was given to someone who lived beside a rocky cliff. Zant is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties Early Origins of the Zant familyThe surname Zant was first found in the Palatinate region of the Rhineland, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the region, eventually moving north with the Palatinate counts to Duesseldorf in the duchy of Berg. 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 and the nation. Early History of the Zant familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Zant research. Another 245 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1253, 1778, 1823, 1825, 1827, 1829 and 1867 are included under the topic Early Zant History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Zant Spelling VariationsIn 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 Zant include Zandt, Zand, Zant and others. Early Notables of the Zant familyAnother 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Zant Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
 Zant 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 Zant, or one of its variants above:
Zant Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Bartholomaus Zant, who arrived in Georgia between 1734 and 1741
- Bartholomaus Zant, who landed in Georgia in 1734-1741 1
- Heinrich Zant, who emigrated from Salzburger to Georgia in 1738
- Bartholomew Zant, who arrived in Georgia in 1741 1
Zant Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Joseph Zant, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1860 1
- Michael Zant, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1860 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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Zant migration to the United States 
