Show ContentsLauterer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Lauterer is a German occupational surname that evolved in the region known as the Rhineland. Germans at first used only one name, but population growth and increased travel in medieval times caused confusion between people of the same name, forcing the people to adopt hereditary surnames. These names often identified people by the kind of work they did. Lauterer is a name for a musician who played the lute. Occupational names that were derived from the common trades of the medieval era transcended European cultural and linguistic boundaries. This phenomenon is demonstrated by names such as the German name Schumaker, which means a maker of shoes, the Ashkenazic Jewish name Zimmerman, which means carpenter, the Polish and Jewish name Stolarski, which means joiner, the Dutch name Schuyler, which means teacher and the Italian name Calderone, which means seller of spices.

Early Origins of the Lauterer family

The surname Lauterer was first found in the Rhineland, where the name could be considered to have made a great contribution to the feudal society which became the backbone of modern Europe. The name became prominent in local affairs and branched into many houses which played important roles in the national conflicts, in which each group sought power and status in an ever changing territorial profile.

Early History of the Lauterer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lauterer research. Another 162 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1400 and 1706 are included under the topic Early Lauterer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lauterer Spelling Variations

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 Lauterer include Lauterer, Laut, Lauten, Lauth, Lautmann, Lautemann, Lautermann, Lauteman and many more.

Early Notables of the Lauterer family

More information is included under the topic Early Lauterer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Lauterer family

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 Lauterer, or one of its variants above: Leonard Lauter, who came to Philadelphia in 1752. Philipp Laut arrived in Philadelphia in 1838; Johann Lauteman came to Maryland in 1760; and Michael Lauth came to Philadelphia in 1764. Johann Peter Lautermann came to Philadelphia in 1738..


Contemporary Notables of the name Lauterer (post 1700) +

  • Maggie Palmer Lauterer, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from North Carolina 11th District, 1994; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1996 1
  • Kassian "Otto" Lauterer (1934-2022), Austrian Roman Catholic priest, Abbot of the Territorial Abbey of Wettingen-Mehrerau from 1968 until his retirement in 2009


  1. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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