Bavaria, Germany is the ancestral home of the Dorner family. The Dorner surname evolved as a local name. It is a name for a family that lived near a thorn-bush or hedge. The surname Dorner is derived from the German word dorn, which means thorn. Thus, the name was adopted by a person who lived near thorn bushes. The name Dorner also was used by people from Dornach, which is a town located near Munich in Bavaria. There is also a town named Dörnach in Tübingen, Westphalia and a city named Thorn (which is now Torun) in Poland. In Bavaria, the Dorner family lived on a feudal estate. Land proprietorship and management were the sole source of wealth and power in the Middle Ages and the Dorner family, as noble landowners, became prestigious members of the landed aristocracy.
The surname Dorner was first found in Bavaria, where the name came from humble beginnings but gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the emerging mediaeval society. It later became more prominent as many branches of the same house acquired distant estates and branches, some in foreign countries, always elevating their social status by their great contributions to society.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dorner research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1738, 1530, 1584, 1809 and 1884 are included under the topic Early Dorner 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 Dorner include Dorn, Dorner, Doorn, Doern, Dorne, Dorns and others.
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dorner Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Thousands of German settlers came to North America between the mid-17th and mid-20th centuries. The hardships of the long voyage were balanced by the opportunity to escape poverty and religious persecution. The descendents of these settlers still populate the states of Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California. Many also live in Ontario and the prairie provinces of Canada. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Dorner or a variant listed above: