Sass History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

Nestled between the Rhine and Wesser rivers is the ancient German region of Westphalia. Westphalia, the home of the name Sass. In the German provinces, hereditary surnames were adopted after the 12th century, and names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local surnames originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. When coupled with the German preposition von, which means from or of, local names can indicate that the initial bearer of the name was an aristocrat. However, in modern times, the preposition is frequently dropped from surnames of this type. The Sass family originally lived in Saxony. The original bearer of the name Sass was a person that was born or that had lived in the region of Lower (northern) Saxony, which is essentially the modern German state named Saxony. This name would have been given to the original bearer of the name after they had migrated from Lower Saxony to another region of Germany, namely Westphalia. The Saxons, who were a Germanic tribe, dwelled in northern Germany and along the Baltic coast during the Roman era. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Saxons migrated south and west. By the 5th century, the Saxon and Angle tribes held most of England. The Saxon language became one of the precursors of the English language.

Early Origins of the Sass family

The surname Sass was first found in Westphalia, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times. Always prominent in social affairs, the name became an integral part of that turbulent region as it emerged to form alliances with other families within the Feudal System and the nation.

Early History of the Sass family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sass research. Another 142 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1779 and 1814 are included under the topic Early Sass History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sass Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames: in early times, spelling in general, and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized; and later, spellings would change with branching and movement of families. Variations of the name Sass include Sasse, Sass, Sasser, Sase, Saser, Sassen, Sasen, Zasse, Zasser and many more.

Early Notables of the Sass family

Notables of the period with the name Sass were

prominent members of the Sasse van Ysselt family who were admitted to the Equestrian Corps of Northern Brabant in August 1814

Sass Ranking

In the United States, the name Sass is the 7,725^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Sass migration to the United States +

Many Germans emigrated across the Atlantic to seek better lives in North America. This great migration began in the middle of the 17th century and continued into the 20th century. Resettlement was particularly attractive to those from Westphalia as a means of escape from poverty and religious persecution. For many Westphalian farmers, the chance to own one's own land was also a major incentive. The process of the widespread colonization of the United States began in 1650, when many immigrants from Germany settled in pockets in Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California. In Canada, German settlements centered around Ontario and the Prairie provinces. Among them:

Sass Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Franz Sass, who landed in America in 1846 2
Heinrich Sass, who arrived in New York, NY in 1850 2
Wilhelm Sass, who landed in New York, NY in 1850 2
Johann Sass, who arrived in Texas in 1855
Peter Sass, who arrived in Colorado in 1871 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sass migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Sass Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Stach Sass, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1899

Contemporary Notables of the name Sass (post 1700) +

Jonathan "Jon" Sass (b. 1961), American jazz tuba player and composer
Hans-Martin Sass (b. 1935), German bioethicist
Katrina Von Sass (b. 1972), retired Canadian female volleyball player
Richard Sass (1774-1849), English landscape painter, etcher, and drawing master to royalty
Anatoly Fomich Sass (b. 1935), Russian Olympic rower
Paul Sass (b. 1988), English mixed martial artist
Henry Sass (1788-1844), English artist and teacher of painting
Sylvia Sass (b. 1951), well-known opera soprano from Hungary

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)