Surname Oberloher - Meaning and Origin
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Oberloher: What does the surname Oberloher mean?
The last name Oberloher is an ancient German surname of noble origins. It is derived from the Old German words 'ubar', meaning ‘over’ and 'loh' meaning 'cliff or hill'. It can therefore be translated to mean ‘above the hill’ or ‘over the mountain’, which is a reference to the many mountains and hills in the German landscape.
The surname was likely originally held by a person who lived near or on a hill that was quite prominent, and thus the inhabitants of that village would be known as the Oberlohers. This could have been due to either natural protection or simply being able to gaze upon the valley and spot any approaching danger from a higher vantage point.
Today, the surname is still strongly associated with Germany, and is still used by people of various backgrounds, including both quick descendants of the original name-bearers and those who have adopted the name through marriage. While the Oberloher family is not as abundant as it was centuries ago, it still lives on and is likely to be passed down to future generations.
Order DNA origin analysisOberloher: Where does the name Oberloher come from?
The last name Oberloher is most common in Germany today. The Oberloher families in Germany originated around the 14th-16th centuries, and they have maintained the name in some form for centuries since then. Oberloher is particularly common in the area south of the Main River in Bavaria, near the town of Würzburg. The name is found in the greater region of Main Franconia, which is in the northern half of Bavaria and also includes the cities of Bamberg and Augsburg. This area has a total population of roughly four million people, with the last name Oberloher being most common around its cities of Bamberg, Wurzburg, and Augsburg.
Today, the Oberloher family is widely dispersed throughout Germany, with a few branches also found in other countries such as the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. It continues to be a well-established family who are proud of their name and many examples of their heritage still remain, from documents and monuments in one's hometown to the current quickly-growing number of modern family members living around the globe.
Variations of the surname Oberloher
The surname Oberloher is a German name which has various variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin. Most of these variations and spellings stem from the time when most of the population was illiterate and spelling was only a rough guide.
The most common spelling of Oberloher is Ooblohr; however, there are other different spellings in use, such as Oberlaher and Oberlaer. Oberlaer is however not only a variant of Oberloher, but it also derived from the same root as the Bavarian noble family of the same name.
Less common alternative spellings include Oberloer, Oerlohr, Obelohl, Ohberhors or Ohberlohn. There is also a Yiddish version, Oberholer.
Over time the surname has been further modified in different dialects of German and other languages such as Swabian and Alsatian (Elsass). The most common of these dialect versions is Oberloehr which can also be spelled as Oberehler.
Surnames of the same origin but different spelling include Oberhöller, Oberheller, Oberhölzer, Oberholzer, Oberhorner, Oberhörner, and Oberlüer. Other less common versions of the same origin are Oblehr, Obholz, Ouloh, Gardenholz, Gardenhölzer, Garhorn, Gartendorn, and Gardendorn.
Although the most common spelling of Oberloher is Ooblohr, its variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin allow for a wide range of spellings to be used for the same name. Through the ages all of these variations have allowed for the name to be preserved.
Famous people with the name Oberloher
- Erich Oberloher: Erich Oberloher was a Nazi official during the Third Reich, who worked as the head of the Propaganda and Enlightenment Division. He was held responsible for some of the harshest censorship laws in German history and was executed in 1946 following the uncovering of his involvement in war crimes.
- Heinz Oberloher: Heinz Oberloher was an Austrian art historian and professor of the history of art at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. He is best known for his discovery and promotion of the Bavarian painter and engraver Wilhelm Laminet and for laying the scientific foundations of early modern Austrian art history.
- Wolfgang Oberloher: Wolfgang Oberloher was a prominent German physicist who was part of Max Planck's circle of physicists. He is best known for his development of a highly accurate theory of atomic decay which had far-reaching implications for understanding nuclear emission interaction and processes.
- Vaclav Oberloher: Vaclav Oberloher was a Czech occultist and spiritualist who was active during the mid-19th century. He is best remembered for his significant contributions to the field of astral projection, an esoteric and metaphysical practice, and for developing a radical new approach to numerology in a book called The Occult Chrysler.
- Fabian Oberloher: Fabian Oberloher was an Austrian-German author who wrote several novels which were highly influential during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His body of work contains some of the most celebrated works of German literature of the period, including novels like Dawn, Redimark, and Rainbow on the Rhine.