Surname Nesemeyer - Meaning and Origin
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Nesemeyer: What does the surname Nesemeyer mean?
The last name Nesemeyer is of German origin and is thought to either be a variant of the more common German name Nashmeyer, or be derived from a German root for the name 'Nestmeier', meaning inhabitant of the nest.
Traditionally, German surnames reflect a patronymic naming system, where a surname is derived from the first name of the father. Therefore, it is possible that the germatic root for 'Nestmeier' is derived from the first name 'Nest', which was a popular first name in Germany in the Middle Ages.
Nesemeyer is a rare name found primarily in Germany. Over the centuries the name has been referred to in records, including as late as the nineteenth century. For example, Friedrich Nessemayer was a master bookbinder from Bavaria in the 1800s.
Today, some Nesemeyers are have left Germany and can be found in other parts of Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia. For those who still reside in Germany, they can be found in the larger cities.
Nesemeyer is a unique last name which can be used to represent a small but notable part of the German population. The origin of the name will probably remain a mystery as it is believed to have been popular in the Middle Ages and it's several centuries later we are still hearing of its existence today.
Order DNA origin analysisNesemeyer: Where does the name Nesemeyer come from?
The last name Nesemeyer is a German surname with notable presence throughout the Rhineland, a traditional cultural region found in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. Nesemeyer is most commonly found in the areas surrounding the towns of Aachen and Düsseldorf, although it is also present in other pockets throughout the region.
The presence of Nesemeyer extends beyond the Rhineland and into the surrounding states of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. In fact, the Netherlands has the highest population of Nesemeyer’s outside of Germany, according to WorldNames PublicProfiler.
Migration has slowly spread this surname across different countries over the centuries. In the United States, Nesemeyers are primarily located in the states of Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota, likely as a result of German immigrants in the 19th century.
Nesemeyer offers the variant spelling of Nesemeier, though it remains much less common today. The prefix “Neh” or “Näh” is indicative of “von” and is sometimes seen as part of the surname, such as in “Nehnähmeyer” or “Nehnesemeyer,” indicating that the bearer was of noble blood.
Overall, the last name “Nesemeyer” is particularly common in Germany and the Netherlands, though it has spread across the globe through generations of migration.
Variations of the surname Nesemeyer
Nesemeyer is a German surname, derived from a personal name formed from the Old German words Neso, ‘straying, lost’ and Mior, ‘clever’. It is also spelled Nessmeyer, Neesmeyer, Nusmeyer, Nessmeijer, Neesmeijer, Nusmeijer, Niesmeyer, Niesmeijer, Nusmeier, and Neisemeyer.
Nesemeyer can also be an anglicized form of the German families Von Nesemeyer and von Nessemeyer, descended from a certain Neis de Nessemeiere, who is first mentioned in the records of Moringen, near Göttingen, in 1212. The place name Nessemeiere, which means “clever mountain”, is derived from the same words as the surname Nesemeyer.
Nesemeyer families were primarily concentrated in the regions of Hanover, Westphalia, and Prussia during the 17th century, with Nessemeiers in the area of Paderborn. By the 19th century, the Nesemeyers had migrated southward to the area around Mainz. Other variants of the name still used today can be found throughout western Germany in cities such as Hamburg and Düsseldorf.
In the United States, many Nesemeyer families anglicized their names in the 19th century, becoming Neckemeyer, Nickmeyer, and Necjmeyer, among other variations. They can be found in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, California, and elsewhere.
Famous people with the name Nesemeyer
- David Nesemeyer: American film actor who has appeared in movies such as Dogma and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
- Marek Nesemeyer: Polish mathematician, specializing in algebra.
- Martin Nesemeyer: German national javelin champion.
- Courtney Nesemeyer: A Canadian soccer player and former member of the Soccer Canada under-15 and under-18 teams.
- Philip Nesemeyer: An American business executive who has held senior management positions at several large companies.
- Rob Nesemeyer: An American quarterback who played professionally with the New York Jets and the Green Bay Packers in 2002.
- Lucius Nesemeyer: A British explorer who was the first to sail into the mouth of the Amazon river in 1534.
- Christian Nesemeyer: A German figure skater who won the bronze medal at the 1934 World Championships.
- Hans Peter Nesemeyer: A Danish-born Norwegian master mariner and Arctic explorer.
- Lauren Nesemeyer: An American reality television star on MTV’s The Real World and its spin-offs.