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The Weinberger surname first began to be used in the German state of Bavaria, some time after the 12th century, when hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules, and names that were derived from locations became particularly common. The family name Weinberger is a local surname. Originally denoting the proprietorship of an estate or influence within a village, the German preposition von, which means from or of, used with local names, was taken as a mark of aristocracy. The surname Weinberger was given to someone who lived near a vineyard on a hillside. The name Weinberg was originally derived from the Old German word Winberc, which is composed of the elements win, meaning wine and berc, meaning hill. The surname Weinberg is also an occupational name for a person who worked in a vineyard. In Bavaria, the Weinberg family possessed vast estates and lived in an elegant feudal manor.
The surname Weinberger was first found in Bavaria, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times. 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.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Weinberger research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1690 and 1819 are included under the topic Early Weinberger 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 Weinberger include Weinberg, Weinburg, Weinberger, Weinsberg, Weinsperg and many more.
Prominent among members of the name Weinberger in this period include
In the United States, the name Weinberger is the 9,612nd 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 Bavaria who wished to escape either poverty or religious persecution. For many Bavarian tenant farmers, the chance to own their own land was a major incentive. So the widespread colonization of the United States began in 1650, when many immigrants from Germany settled in pockets in Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California. In Canada, German settlement centered in Ontario and the prairie provinces. Among those of this surname listed in various historical records were: