Show ContentsKoening Surname History

The ancestral home of the Koening family is in the German state of Bavaria. The name Koening is an occupational hereditary surname, a type of surname that was taken from a word describing or common to the profession of the original bearer. It is a name for a person who was thought to possess regal qualities. The surname Koening was originally derived from the German word denoting the king, which was given to someone who was successful in sports or other skillful matches.

Early Origins of the Koening family

The surname Koening was first found in Alsace, where the name emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families of the region. From the 13th century the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation.

Early History of the Koening family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Koening research. Another 114 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1701, 1823, 1832 and 1901 are included under the topic Early Koening History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Koening 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 Koening include de Koenig, Koenig, Konnig, Koenig, de Koennig, Konige, Konnige, Konigge and many more.

Early Notables of the Koening family

More information is included under the topic Early Koening Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Koening 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 Koening, or one of its variants above:

Koening Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Koening, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1846 1
  • Frederick Koening, aged 24, who arrived in New York, NY in 1852 1
  • Jacob Koening, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1878 1


  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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