Wirz Surname, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available: German, Swiss

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The German name Wirz has evolved from several different sources. The name may be a derivative of the Middle High German "wert" meaning "river island," or "river bank." It may have come from the ancient personal name Werner, composed of the Old High German "warjan" meaning "protection" and "hari" meaning "army." The Middle High German word "wurz" meant "greenery" or "herb" and Wirz may have been an occupational name for a green grocer. It also possible that as a surname, Wirz derived from a place name, such as the town named Wurzberg, in the Odenwald region.

Wirz Early Origins

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The surname Wirz was first found in the Rhineland-Palatinate, Southwestern Germany, where a Werzo Carpentarius was listed as residing in Worms in 1277. Another early instance of the name is of Conrad der alt Wurz (the elder Conrad,) who was listed in the "Wurttembergische Viertelsjahrhefte fur Landesgeschichte," as being a citizen of Horkheim in 1370.

Wirz Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Wertz, Werz, Wert, Wurz, Wurtz, Wirz and others.

Wirz Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wirz research. Another 121 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1417, 1477, and 1487 are included under the topic Early Wirz History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wirz Early Notables (pre 1700)

Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wirz Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wirz Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johannes Conrad Wirz, who settled in Philadelphia in 1735
Anna Wirz, who landed in Carolina in 1743 ^[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Jacob Wirz, who arrived in Carolina in 1743 ^[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Jacob and Anna Wirz, who arrived in Carolina in 1743

Wirz Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Andrew Wirz, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1855 ^[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Wilhelm Wirz, aged 70, who landed in America in 1881 ^[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)

Contemporary Notables of the name Wirz (post 1700)

Henry Wirz (1822-1865), American (Swiss born), Major in the Confederate army, executed after the American Civil War for war crimes
Theodor Wirz, President of the Swiss Council of States (parliament) 1884-85

Wirz Historic Events

RMS Titanic

Mr. Albert Wirz (d. 1912), aged 27, Swiss Third Class passenger from Uster who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking and was recovered by CS Mackay-Bennett ^[2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html

Wirz Family Crest Products

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)
^ Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html

Other References

Garland, Mary and Henry Garland Editions. Oxford Companion To German Literature 3rd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print. (ISBN 0198158963).
Bahlow, Hans (Edda Gentry trns). Dictionary of German Names . Madison, Wisconsin: Max Kade Institute, 2002. Print. (ISBN 0-924119-35-7).
Best, Hugh. Debrett's Texas Peerage. New York: Coward-McCann, 1983. Print. (ISBN 069811244X).
Siebmacher, J.J. Siebmachers Wappenbuch. München, Battenberg: 1975. Print.
Kapff, Rudolf. Schwäbische Geschlechtsnamen. Stuttgart: Verlag Silberburg, 1927. Print.
Bahlow, Hans. Deutschlands geographische Namenwelt Etymologisches Lexikon der Fluss- und Ortsnamen alteuropaischer Herkunft. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 1985. Print.
Schenk, Trudy. Wuerttemberg Emigration Index Volume I-VIII. Salt Lake City: Ancestry Inc., 1986. Print.
Zieber, Eugene. Heraldry in America. Philadelphia: Genealogical Publishing Co. Print.
Kneschke, Dr. Ernest Heinrich. Neues allgemeines Deutsches Adels-Lexicon 9 Volumes New General German Aristocracy Lexicon. Leipzig: Friedrich Voigt, 1859. Print.
Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Galveston Texas 1896-1951. National Archives Washington DC. Print.
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The Wirz Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Wirz Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.

This page was last modified on 14 February 2014 at 10:15.