| ![Show Contents]() Zwicky History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 Germany The ancestral home of the Zwicky family was in the German state of Bavaria. Zwicky is a local name for a person who lived in the town of Zwickl in Bavaria. In the eastern regions of Bohemia and Silesia, Zwicker or Zwicke was a short form of Zwickauer, which denoted a person from the Saxon city of Zwickau. In Old German, the words Zwick, Zwack, or Zweck meant nails orbolts, and the verb zwicken or zwacken meant to pack or load. Early Origins of the Zwicky familyThe surname Zwicky was first found in Bavaria, where the name emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families of the region. From the 13th century the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation. Zwickl is a town in Bavaria, and Berchtold der Zwickel was the founder of a prominent line of the family in the Bavarian city Augsburg around 1317. In the eastern regions of Bohemia and Silesia, Zwicker or Zwicke was a short form of the label "Zwickauer," applied to a person from the Saxon city of Zwickau. For instance, Herman Czwicker (Czickower) was recorded in the Silesian city Breslau in 1348. Chronicles also mention Heinrich Zwick of the Swiss town St. Gallen in the year 1436. In Old-German, the words Zwick, Zwack, or Zweck referred literally to nails or bolts, and the verb "zwicken" or "zwacken" meant to pack or load. Early History of the Zwicky familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Zwicky research. Another 112 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1391, 1403, 1709 and 1792 are included under the topic Early Zwicky History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Zwicky Spelling VariationsIn 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 Zwicky include Zwick, Zwickel, Zwicker (Saxony), Zwicke (Silesia), Zwickert (Silesia), Zwicken, Zwicki (Switzerland), Zwicky (Switzerland), Zwack (Bavaria), Zwacker, Zweck and many more. Early Notables of the Zwicky familyProminent among members of the name Zwicky in this period include Petrus Zwicker (died 1403), East Prussian Inquisitor and cleric of the Roman Catholic Order of the Celestines, (1391-1403) he led one of the largest...
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Zwicky Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
 Zwicky migration to the United States | + |
Between the mid-17th and mid-20th centuries, German settlers arrived in North America by the thousands. Persecution based on religion and poverty were great motivators in this large-scale migration. So too was the opportunity for tenant farmers to own their own land. Ample land and opportunity awaited the settlers who went to such states as Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California, as well as Ontario and the prairie provinces of Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Zwicky or a variant listed above:
Zwicky Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Jacob Anselm Raphaweil Zwicky, who arrived in New York in 1835 1
- Frederick Zwicky, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1876
Zwicky Settlers in United States in the 20th Century- Fritz Zwicky, who landed in California in 1925 1
| Contemporary Notables of the name Zwicky (post 1700) | + |
- Fritz Zwicky (1898-1974), Switzerland-born American astrophysicist, eponym of the Zwicky lunar crater, and the 1803 Zwicky asteroid and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Arnold M Zwicky, distinguished American Professor of Linguistics
- Fay Zwicky (1933-2017), Australian poet, short-story writer, critic and academic
- Jan Zwicky (b. 1955), Canadian poet, essayist, and violinist
- 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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Zwicky migration to the United States 
