Surname Gehrken - Meaning and Origin
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Gehrken: What does the surname Gehrken mean?
The last name Gehrken has Germanic origins and derives from the Middle High German word “gehr” which means “scythe” combined with “kin” which is a diminutive suffix. This suggests that the name was likely used to indicate an occupation, most likely that of agricultural worker or reaper. The word “gehrken” would have been used to mean someone who used a scythe to cut crops.
The name does have some variation in spelling, commonly seen as Gehring, Gerken, or Gehrig. This further reinforces the agricultural roots of the name, since the lettering changes are meant to reflect different regional German pronunciations related to dialects used in agricultural areas.
Due to the spelling variations, someone looking for records of the Gehrken family would have to search for any of these different spellings. This makes researching the origin of the family name slightly more difficult.
In today’s society, the name Gehrken is a typically found all over the world due to emigration from German-speaking countries in the 19th and 20th centuries. Though the name may have originally been linked to one particular occupation, it is now seen as a fairly common and well-used surname.
Order DNA origin analysisGehrken: Where does the name Gehrken come from?
The last name Gehrken is most commonly found throughout Germany, primarily in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. Other areas of Germany where the surname exists at a more frequent rate include Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Gehrken is also found in the United States, with states having the highest concentration being California, Texas, and New York.
The last name has assumed a variety of alternate spellings over time. These include Gehrkan, Gehrking, Gehrkenne, Gehreken, and Gehreke. According to the 1990 United States census, the top five variants of the Gehrken last name throughout the country were Gehring, Gehrke, Garric, Garreghty, and Garrige.
The surname has an unclear origin, although there are various theories surrounding its origin. Some suggest that the name is derived from Low German words such as gerken or gerk, meaning “to scratch” or “to very lightly engrave”. Alternatively, it has also been suggested that the last name could have been derived from the Medieval German words gehen or ger, both meaning “to go” or “to move”. It’s also possible that the last name instead originates from the Middle High German word geher, meaning “guard”.
As such, the Gehrken last name is most typically associated with locations in both Germany and the US, particularly with people in descendent of ancestors within these two regions. Given the variety of spelling variants, it is likely that individuals with the last name in more recent times have found their direct ancestral origin to be of German origin.
Variations of the surname Gehrken
The Gehrken surname has two primary variants, Gehrcke and Gerken, and a number of other spellings including Gercken, Gercke, Gerck, Gorke, Gercks, Ghrke, Gerkes, and Gerk. This last spelling, Gerk, is also found in Dutch records and is likely derived from the Low German elements gmiddlehro + -ing, meaning “of the people of the shield”.
The Germanic origin of the surname suggests that it was originally associated with a tribe or Germanic clan who protected their homes and families from foreign invasions with shield and spears. It is likely that the tribe or clan was spread out across a number of different regions over time, thus accounting for the geographical spelling variations of the surname.
The Gehrken name is also associated with the various surnames found in records from other countries, such as the Netherlands, including Gorck, Gerke, and Gekken, among others. Furthermore, due to the physical proximity of Germany and the Netherlands, it is likely that the two countries would have adopted similar variants of the same surname, as well as some intermingling of the populations over time.
Overall, Gehrken is a surname associated with a Germanic tribe or clan of warriors, whose members spread throughout the region and adopted various variations of the original surname.
Famous people with the name Gehrken
- Felix Gehrken: German actor, writer and director. He is best known for his role in the television series "Stadtrand" (1999).
- Henk Gehrken: Dutch professional football player who played in the Netherlands and Belgium leagues.
- Kurt Gehrken: Polish-born German actor who appeared in several films and television series.
- Fred Gehrken: German writer, dramatist and journalist. He was a laureate of the German Prize for Essay and Criticism.
- Mathias Gehrken: German composer and orchestral conductor. He was a professor of music at the University of Hamburg.
- Arno Gehrken: German student leader who founded the German Democratic Republic's first university. He was a member of the West German Social Democratic Party.
- Hans-Hinrich Gehrken: German playwright and theater director who played an important role in Brechtian theater.
- Gisela Gehrken: German physicist who worked on the development of zero energy homes.
- Kirstin Gehrken: German fashion designer and author of several books on fashion and stylistics.
- Rudolf Gehrken: German historian and professor at the University of Marburg. His works focused on the history of the early modern period in Germany.