Weitman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

The bountiful region surrounding the Rhine river is the birthplace of the name Weitman. A single name was, at one time, all that people needed. However, increasing ease of travel and the burgeoning populations forced people to adopt a hereditary surname to set themselves apart from others. A common form of surname found in the Rhineland was the local name, a name taken on from a place-name. Originally denoting the proprietorship of a village or estate, the German preposition von, which means from or of, used with local names, was taken as a mark of aristocracy. The surname Weitman was given to someone who lived in the area that was referred to as widem which was originally derived from the German word denoting church property. Thus the estates or farms lived in by the original bearers of the surname were owned by the church. In early times the Church was the largest landowner in Europe. Many farmers and peasants alike lived on land that was considered church property.

Early Origins of the Weitman family

The surname Weitman was first found in the Palatinate in the Rhineland valley, where the name was anciently associated with the tribal conflicts of the area. They declared allegiances to many nobles and princes of early history, lending their influence in struggles for power and status within the region. They branched into many houses, and many leaders sought their support in their search for power.

Early History of the Weitman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Weitman research. Another 316 words (23 lines of text) covering the years 1601, 1638, 1639, 1642, 1646, 1667, 1675, 1687, 1712, 1719, 1724, 1730 and 1870 are included under the topic Early Weitman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Weitman 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 Weitman include Widmann, Widman, Widemann, Wideman, Witmann, Witman, Wittmann, Wittman, Whitman and many more.

Early Notables of the Weitman family

Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Weitman Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Weitman migration to the United States +

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 Weitman, or one of its variants above:

Weitman Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johannes Weitman, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1753 1

Weitman Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jacob Weitman, who landed in Mobile County, Ala in 1855 1

Contemporary Notables of the name Weitman (post 1700) +

Hyman Weitman, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1956 2

Citations +

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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 25) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html