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| Origins Available: |
| | Germany |
The ancestral home of the Zettel family is in the German state of Bavaria. The name Zettel 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 held a position of high prestige and may have been a courier or a diplomat. The name Zettel is derived from the German word "zedel," which means "drawing up" or "dispatching." It is also possible that the original bearer of the name Zettel was involved in the judiciary, or in the drawing up of legal documents.
The surname Zettel 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. Chronicles first mention Merten Zettelschreiber of Altburg in 1560.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Zettel research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1882 is included under the topic Early Zettel 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 Zettel include Zettel, Zettle, Zettl, Zettels, Zettler, Zedel and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Zettel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Among those of this surname listed in various historical records were: