Zender History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

The bountiful region surrounding the Rhine river is the birthplace of the name Zender. 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 created in the Rhineland was the local name. Originally denoting the proprietorship of the village or estate, the German preposition von, which means from or of, was used with local names. The surname Zender was given to someone who lived beside a rocky cliff. Zender 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 Zender family

The surname Zender was first found in the Palatinate region of the Rhineland, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the region, eventually moving north with the Palatinate counts to Duesseldorf in the duchy of Berg. 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 Zender family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Zender research. Another 245 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1253, 1778, 1823, 1825, 1827, 1829 and 1867 are included under the topic Early Zender History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Zender 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 Zender include Zandt, Zand, Zant and others.

Early Notables of the Zender family

Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Zender Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Zender 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 Zender, or one of its variants above:

Zender Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Joakim Zender, who landed in New York, NY in 1834 1

Zender Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Elje Zender, aged 1, who arrived in America, in 1904
Hennie Zender, aged 2, who arrived in America, in 1904
Zessie Zender, aged 25, who arrived in America, in 1904
Suboric Zender, aged 29, who arrived in America, in 1908
Giovanni Zender, aged 26, who arrived in America from Falcade, Italy, in 1909
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Zender (post 1700) +

Bill Zender (b. 1955), American author, business executive, consultant, and speaker
Marc Zender, Canadian-born, American Mayan anthropologist
Gladys Rosa Zender de Meier (b. 1938), née Zender Urbina, Peruvian beauty queen who became the first Latin American woman to win the Miss Universe title
Henry A. Zender, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1928 2
Bryce F. Zender Jr., American politician, Representative from Michigan 3rd District, 1974 2
Johannes "Hans" Wolfgang Zender (b. 1936), German conductor and composer
Stuart Patrick Jude Zender (b. 1974), English bassist, songwriter and record producer

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 2015, December 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html