Show ContentsWaldberg History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient German region of the Rhineland was the original home of the ancestors of the Waldberg surname. Waldberg was a local name, a type of hereditary surname that identified people by the places where they lived. Landowners were the first to use local names, and they often attached the prefix "von", meaning "of" or "from," to the surname. Often, the use of "von" was a mark of aristocratic birth. Local names are by far the most common style of German hereditary surname. Waldberg was a name for someone who lived at the weald, near a wood or wasteland. In Silesia, a town named Waldenburg was erected in 1426. Waldberg is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties.

Early Origins of the Waldberg family

The surname Waldberg was first found in the regions of the Rhineland and Westphalia, where the name could be considered to make a great early contribution to the feudal society which became the backbone of early development of Europe. The name Waldenburg (or Waldenberg) became prominent in local affairs and branched into many houses which played important roles in the tribal and national conflicts, each group striving for supremacy in an ever changing territorial profile. Waldenburg is also a town of Silesia established in 1426.

Early History of the Waldberg family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Waldberg research. Another 151 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1649, 1793, 1810 and 1853 are included under the topic Early Waldberg History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Waldberg 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 Waldberg include Waldenberg, Waldenberg, Waldenburger, Waldenberger and many more.

Early Notables of the Waldberg family

Notables with the name Waldberg during this period were Baron Gerhard von Waldenburg, who was Privy Councellor at the court in Mainz, as well as steward, private tutor, and major-domo at Aschaffenburg. In 1649...
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Waldberg Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Waldberg migration to the United States +

Hundreds of thousands of Europeans, including many Rhinelanders, made the voyage to North America between the 17th and 20th centuries. It was an escape from religious persecution and poverty and also an opportunity for people to start over and own their own land. Most landed at Ellis Island, off New York before moving on to the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, and California. Some also landed in Canada and settled in Ontario, while others headed west to the prairie provinces. A study of passenger and immigration lists has shown a number of people bearing the name of Waldberg, or one of its variants, reaching North America shores very early:

Waldberg Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Augusta Waldberg, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1794 1
Waldberg Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • F. S. Waldberg, who arrived in New York city in 1822


  1. 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)


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