| ![Show Contents]() Breymeyer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
Germany
Etymology of BreymeyerWhat does the name Breymeyer mean? The bountiful region surrounding the Rhine river is the birthplace of the name Breymeyer. 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 Breymeyer was given to someone who lived beside a marshy region. The surname Breymeyer originally derived from the Old German word Brede which referred to a marsh. Breymeyer is a topographic surname, a type of local name given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Early Origins of the Breymeyer familyThe surname Breymeyer was first found in the Rhineland, where the name emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families of the region. From the 13th century on, the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation. The name derives from the word "Brede," which describes an area of marshy land; Breymann or Breymeyer are variations of Bredemann or Breymeyer. Early History of the Breymeyer familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Breymeyer research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1793 and 1794 are included under the topic Early Breymeyer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Breymeyer Spelling VariationsIn 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 Breymeyer include Breymann, Breyman, Breymeyer, Breymeier, Breymaier, Breimann, Breiman, Braymann and many more. Early Notables of the Breymeyer familyAnother 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Breymeyer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Breymeyer migration to the United States | + |
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 Breymeyer, or one of its variants above:
Breymeyer Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- John Georg Breymeyer, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1752 1
- 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)
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