Allendorf History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

The ancient German region of the Rhineland was the original home of the name Allendorf. Allendorf was a local name, a type of hereditary surname that identified people by the places where they lived. Landowners were the first to use local names, often attaching the prefix "von", meaning "of" or "from", in some cases as a mark of aristocratic birth. Local names are by far the most common style of German hereditary surname. Allendorf was a name for someone who lived any of many places called Allendorf in Germany, such as the town of Allendorf the district of Giesseen, in Hesse, Germany.

Early Origins of the Allendorf family

The surname Allendorf was first found in Rhineland, where they had become established in the Middle Ages.

Early History of the Allendorf family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Allendorf research. Another 66 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Allendorf History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Allendorf Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames: in early times, spelling in general, and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized; and later, spellings would change with branching and movement of families. Variations of the name Allendorf include Alendorf, Allendorff, Alenndorf, Alenndorff, Allendorfs, Allendorfer, Alendorfer, Allendorffer, Alenndorfer, Allendorffer, Allentorf, Allentorff, Allentorffer, Allendorp, Allendorper and many more.

Early Notables of the Allendorf family

Notables with the name Allendorf during this period were

the Allendorf family of the Rhineland

Allendorf migration to the United States +

Hundreds of thousands of Europeans, including many Rhinelanders, made the voyage to North America between the 17th and 20th centuries. It was an escape from religious persecution and poverty and also an opportunity for people to start over and own their own land. Most landed at Ellis Island, off New York before moving on to the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, and California. Some also landed in Canada and settled in Ontario, while others headed west to the prairie provinces. A study of passenger and immigration lists has shown a number of people bearing the name of Allendorf, or one of its variants, reaching North America shores very early:

Allendorf Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Elis Allendorf, who arrived in America in 1835 1
Elis Allendorf, who arrived in America in 1836
George Allendorf, who settled in Philadelphia in 1864
Anna, Barbara, Elisabeth, Georg, Johannes and Peter Allendorf all of whom, who arrived in New York City in 1876
Anna Allendorf, aged 3, who arrived in New York, NY in 1876 1
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Allendorf (post 1700) +

Fred W. Allendorf (b. 1947), American Regents Professor of Biology at the University of Montana
Reinhard Allendorf, American television actor
Cornelia Allendorf, American stunt woman
Michael Allendorf (b. 1986), German handball player for MT Melsungen and the German national team

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)