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The bountiful region surrounding the Rhine river is the birthplace of the name Oppenheim. 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 Oppenheim was given to someone who lived in the region of Oppenheim in the town of Hesse, between Mainz and Worms. Oppenheim 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.
The surname Oppenheim was first found in the Rhineland, where the name Oppenheim was closely identified in early mediaeval times with the feudal society that became prominent throughout Europe. The name later emerged as a noble family with great influence, having many distinguished branches that become noted for their involvement in social, economic and political affairs.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Oppenheim research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1867 is included under the topic Early Oppenheim History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Oppenheim include Oppenheim, Openheim, Oppennheim, Opennheim, Oppenheime, Oppenheimm, Oppenheimer and many more.
Notables with the name Oppenheim during this period were
In the United States, the name Oppenheim is the 14,215th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1
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 Oppenheim, or one of its variants above: