| ![Show Contents]() Wellner 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 Wellner. 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 Wellner family originally lived by or near a spring. The name Wellner is derived from the Low German word welle, which means spring or well. The er is a common suffix for German names. There are numerous places in the German states that were named Well, Welling,Waelling, and Wellingen or that contain these root words. For example, there are places named Wellingshofen and Wellinghusen in Holstein and there is a place called Wellingbuettel in Hamburg. Early Origins of the Wellner familyThe surname Wellner was first found in the Rhineland and 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. Chronicles first mention Nicolaus Weller of Liegnitz in Silesia in 1387, Heinrich Weller of Basel, Switzerland in the 13th century, and Heyne von Wellen of Haldesleben in the 14th century. Welle is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony. Early History of the Wellner familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wellner research. Another 124 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1705, 1711, 1774 and 1811 are included under the topic Early Wellner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Wellner Spelling VariationsOne 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 Wellner include Well, Weller (Westphalia), Welle (Westphalia), Wellers, Wellner and many more. Early Notables of the Wellner familyNotables of the period with the name Wellner were Johann Jacob Well, who was ennobled in 1774 in reward for his outstanding services as a pharmacist and...
Another 26 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wellner Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Wellner familyMany 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: Henry Weller, who came to America in 1679; Hans Martin Weller, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1727; Hieronymus Weller, his wife Anna Juliana and their two children, who settled in New York in 1709.
| Contemporary Notables of the name Wellner (post 1700) | + |
- Charles V. Wellner, American politician, Mayor of Naperville, Illinois, 1951 1
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