Bavaria, Germany is the ancestral home of the Gelber family. The Gelber surname evolved as a local name. It is a name for a family that lived in Bavaria. Since medieval times the name Gelber came from humble beginnings and gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the region's feudal society.
The surname Gelber was first found in Bavaria, where since medieval times the name Gelb came from humble beginnings but gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the region's feudal society. It later became more prominent as many branches of the family acquired distant estates which greatly elevated their social status.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gelber research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1817 and 1846 are included under the topic Early Gelber 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 Gelber include Gelb, Gelber, Ghelb, Ghelber, Gelbe, Ghelbe, Gelben, Gelbere, Gelbel, Gelble, Ghelben, Ghelbere, Ghelbel, Ghelble and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Gelber 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 Gelber or a variant listed above: