Surname Meißgeier - Meaning and Origin
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Meißgeier: What does the surname Meißgeier mean?
The German surname Meißgeier is derived from the Middle High German word meïssgeier, which literally translates to “hawk man”. The name likely referred to someone who hunted with hawks, such as a falconer. The word “meiß” is derived from the Old High German word mēzî, meaning hawk, while “geier” is derived from the Old High German word gêri, meaning vulture.
In ancient Germanic and Norse cultures, hawking was an important form of hunting, allowing people to hunt treacherous and often dangerous animals such as birds and small mammals. The use of hawks enabled hunters to take down more prey, as well as show off their hunting prowess and skill in working with an intelligent bird of prey. Hawk training and hawking was a respected activity during the Middle Ages, and as such the surname Meißgeier was likely created to designate a family of falconers.
Today, the most common variation of the name Meißgeier is Meissner, derived from the Middle High German word meïssener which means a person who belongs to the city of Meißen in the German state of Saxony. It is unknown how many people may have adopted the name Meißgeier over the centuries, but it is likely that most bearers of the name today have the variation of Meissner.
Overall, the surname Meißgeier was likely given to a family of falconers, and symbolized respect for a highly skilled and difficult hunting technique used in medieval and early modern Germany. Today, the use of hawks for hunting has largely died out, yet the name Meißgeier, as well as its variation Meissner, live on to honor the past generations of falconers.
Order DNA origin analysisMeißgeier: Where does the name Meißgeier come from?
The last name Meißgeier is not common in many parts of the world. This is largely because the name is derived from two German words, "Meiß" (“hunt”) and "Geier" (“vulture”). In other words, “Meißgeier” is a combination of the words meaning “vulture hunter”.
Indeed, the most common place to find the surname Meißgeier today is in Germany. According to genealogical websites such as Ancestry.com, the name is “most prevalent in Germany, where it is held by 279 people, or 1 in 51,621”. In particular, it is more prevalent in some parts of Germany than others; for instance, more than 380 occurrences of it are found in the western state of North-Rhine Westphalia.
Beyond Germany, the name is much rarer. It is found in a few other European countries such as in France and the Netherlands, where there are a few isolated cases. Beyond Europe, Meißgeier is especially rare and often only found through immigration. Records of the name in the USA or Canada are very small.
All in all, however, the surname Meißgeier is much more common in Germany than anywhere else in the world. This is likely due to the name’s German origin and the fact that Germany is the homeland of its bearers.
Variations of the surname Meißgeier
Meißgeier is a German surname that derived from the Old German languages. Its origin comes from the combination of the words "Meiß" and "Geier," which roughly translated mean "Hunt" and "Vulture" respectively. The name has several variants, spellings, and surname derivatives.
The most common spelling is Meißgeier. This spelling has remained more or less the same since Middle High German times. The spelling is pronounced "Mice-guy-er." Other variants of the spelling include: Meisgeier, Meissgeier, Mais-Geier, Maisseier, Maseier, and Mais.
In terms of surname derivatives, there are some that are close to the spelling Meißgeier. These include: Meisiner, Maislein, Maislin, Meisenstein, Maistin, Maischinger, and Maisch.
Variant spellings and derivatives of the surname Meißgeier have mostly been used to distinguish families belonging to different regions. In some cases, it has been used to distinguish between different groups of people belonging to the same family.
Surnames derived from Meißgeier commonly feature a suffix such as ‘er’, ‘in’ or ‘stein’. This is a common occurrence in many German family names.
The Meißgeier surname has also been found in other countries, such as Austria, Switzerland, and the United States. In the United States, variants such as Meeseiger, Messenger, and Meeseger are all versions of Meißgeier.
Therefore, the variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin for the surname Meißgeier are: Meißgeier, Meisgeier, Meissgeier, Mais-Geier, Maisseier, Maseier, Mais, Meisiner, Maislein, Maislin, Meisenstein, Maistin, Maischinger, Maisch, Meeseiger, Messenger, and Meeseger.
Famous people with the name Meißgeier
- Elisabeth Meißgeier, former Minister of Social Affairs in the Saxony-Anhalt government.
- Manfred Meißgeier, German poet and journalist.
- Karl Meißgeier, a German Lutheran theologian and anti-Nazi resistance fighter.
- Robert Meißgeier, a German politician and member of the Landtag of Saxony.
- Andreas Meißgeier, an Austrian colonel in the navy and mayor of Vienna from 1848 to 1854.
- Helfried Meißgeier, a German professional ice hockey player.
- Wei Meißgeier, a German painter and sculptor associated with Expressionism.
- Moritz Meißgeier, a German chess player and author of several books on chess.
- Sabine Meißgeier, a German opera singer and voice teacher.
- Erich Meißgeier, a German agricultural scientist and author of academic texts on field crops and fertilization.