Dornes History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England
• Germany

Etymology of Dornes

The ancestral home of the Dornes family is Bavaria. Dornes is a local name for a person who lived near a thorn-bush or hedge. The surname Dornes 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 Dornes 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 Dornes family lived on a feudal estate. Land proprietorship and management were the sole source of wealth and power in the Middle Ages and the Dornes family, as noble landowners, became prestigious members of the landed aristocracy.

Early Origins of the Dornes family

Early History of the Dornes family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dornes research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1530, 1584, 1738, 1804, 1809, 1824, 1825 and 1884 are included under the topic Early Dornes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dornes Spelling Variations

Many cultural groups lived in the German states in medieval times. Each had its own dialect and traditions, and unique variations of popular names. Low German, which is similar to contemporary Dutch, was spoken in Westphalia. German names are characterized by additions such as regional suffixes and phrases that tell something about the origin or background of its original bearer. Further contributing to the variation in German names was the fact that there were no spelling rules in medieval times: scribes recorded names according to their sound. The recorded spelling variations of Dornes include Dorn, Dorner, Doorn, Doern, Dorne, Dorns and others.

Early Notables of the Dornes family

Gerhard Dorn (c. 1530-1584), a Belgian philosopher, translator, alchemist, physician and bibliophile; and Isaac August Dorner (1809-1884), an important Lutheran theologian. Heinrich Ludwig Edmund Dorn was a very considerable musician of modern Germany, born at Königsberg, Prussia, Nov. 14, 1804. His turn for music showed itself early, and was duly encouraged and assisted, but not so as to interfere with his general education. He went through the curriculum of the Königsberg University, and after visiting Dresden (where...
Another 75 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dornes Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Dornes family

Between the mid-17th and mid-20th centuries, German settlers arrived in North America by the thousands. Persecution based on religion and poverty were great motivators in this large-scale migration. So too was the opportunity for tenant farmers to own their own land. Ample land and opportunity awaited the settlers who went to such states as Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California, as well as Ontario and the prairie provinces of Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Dornes or a variant listed above: Christian Dorn, age 35; settled in Charles Town, South Carolina in 1766; Daniel Dorn settled in New Jersey in 1763; Godfrey Dorn settled in Philadelphia in 1842.