The roots of the German surname Lingafelter lie in the former royal duchy of Swabia, now the modern region of Baden-Wurttemburg. The surname is derived from the name of the town of Lingenfeld, located south of the city of Heidelberg. The name was most likely originally borne by someone who came from this village.
The surname Lingafelter was first found in Lingenfeld, a small town located south of Heidelberg near the French border. It was common practice in the early Middle Ages to take on a surname derived from the name of one's city of origin, particularly when one was moving from that city to settle somewhere else; thus, the earliest bearers of the surname were probably former residents of Lingenfeld who had moved to another town.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lingafelter research.
Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1593, 1765, and 1834 are included under the topic Early Lingafelter History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Spelling variations of this family name include: Lingenfelter, Lingenfelder, von Linggenfeld, Lingen, Lingg, Ling and many more.
Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Johannes Lingenfeldter, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1738; Jacob Lingenfelter, who immigrated to Philadelphia in 1753; Pancratius Lingenfelder and his wife Catharina, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1754 with their two sons, Abraham Lingenfelter, who was naturalized in Maryland in 1758.