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| Origins Available: |
| | Germany |
By and large, hereditary surname were formed in Germany when most of the German states were a part of the Holy Roman Empire. At this time, as the population of Europe swelled and travel became easier, people began to encounter others sharing their own name and they avoided confusion by adopting a second name. A common form of surnames found in Germany are those that are derived from nicknames. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The surname Dithmar was a name for a person who was famous among the people. The name Dithmar is the German form of the Latin name Theudoricus and it is composed of the Old German word "diot," which in modern German is volk and means people or race, and the Old German word "mar," which means popular, famous, or big. Ditmar is also a local type of surname that comes from Dittmarsdorf in the province of Schlesen. The name Dithmar was very popular during medieval times and the family emerged as members of the aristocratic gentry class in the Middle Ages.
The surname Dithmar was first found in Germany, where in ancient times the name Ditmar made important contributions to the advancement of feudal society. In later years the name branched into many different houses, some of whom played a significant role in the local social and political affairs of the late Middle Ages.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dithmar research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1814 is included under the topic Early Dithmar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Dithmar include Ditmar, Ditmars, Dittmar, Dittmars, Dittmer, Dittmers, Ditmer, Dietmar, Dithmar, Dettmer, Detmer, Diemer, Detmers, Dismar, Dismer, Dittmayer, Diesmar, Diesmer and many more.
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dithmar Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Dithmar were Jan Jansen Ditmars, who settled in America in 1650. David Ditmar, age 22; settled in America in 1709; Hans Michel Detmer settled in Pennsylvania in 1728.