Surname Schormair - Meaning and Origin
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Schormair: What does the surname Schormair mean?
The surname Schormair is a toponymic surname derived from German dialects. It is derived from the words “schor,” meaning dry, and “mair,” which is a prefix referring to marshy terrain. The surname therefore translates roughly to “one who lives on dry marshland.”
The Schormair family originally hailed from the German regions of Marburg and Lippe, where both spelling variants of the surname were found. The earliest known bearer of the name was recorded in 1296, when a girl named Berta Schormar was recorded living in Marburg.
The surname was likely taken up by a family who either lived in an area of marshy land, or who had a history of owning such land. Those who took the name also likely had some sort of connotation to it, such as being strong enough to survive on inhospitable land or as a sign of how hard-working and tough the family was.
The surname has since been taken up by other families in different countries such as Austria, Austria-Hungary, and the United States. Today, the Schormair surname is relatively rare, yet its history speaks to the family’s strong roots and the courage and resilience it takes to thrive in even the harshest of environments.
Order DNA origin analysisSchormair: Where does the name Schormair come from?
The last name Schormair is primarily found in Germany, where it originated as a toponymic name derived from a location in Württemberg. In Württemberg, the surname is particularly prevalent in the Schwarzwald-Baar district. Other countries with significant populations of Schormairs include Austria and the United States.
Schormair is a fairly uncommon surname in the United States. According to the US Census Bureau, only 0.0001% of the population had the surname in 2019. The majority of Schormairs today live in Pennsylvania, followed by New Jersey, Ohio, and Michigan. The last name is slowly gaining traction in other states, with growing populations in Arizona, Nevada, and California.
Outside of Germany and the United States, the last name Schormair is relatively rare. Most of the population exists in densely-populated European and Western countries like Canada, Switzerland, France, and Hungary. Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa all have smaller populations of Schormairs as well.
The Schormair surname fits the so-called name-place adaption model. This is a migration pattern in which families leave their place of origin and adopt its name as their own in the places they move. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, numerous Schormairs left Germany and resettled in other parts of the world, leading to the worldwide distribution of the surname today.
Variations of the surname Schormair
The surnames Schormair, Schommer, Schömmer, Schömmel, Schömmerle, Schömmerer, Schömmererle, Schömmerle, Schömerle, Schömir, Schömmel, Schomel, and Schömair all stem from the same origin and are variants of one another.
The name Schormair is believed to have origated from Schwabia, an area in the southwest of Germany, and in old German dialect the word "Schurm" or "Schurmer" meant "Husbandman" or "Farmer," likely originating with a worker who worked land for a lord.
The surname Schommer is thought to be derived from the occupation of a "merchant," while the surnames Schömmer, Schömmel, and Schömmerle all likely have some connection to the German word "schäumen" which means "to foam or froth". This name is thought to have been given to someone who worked in a brewery.
Meanwhile the surnames Schömmerer and Schömmererle both likely originate from the Old High German word "scoumo" or "schoumo," meaning "woodcutter" and the combination of the two words into "Schömmerer" which came to mean "packing woodcutter" or "shipping woodcutter".
The surname Schömerle is believed to have originated with the combination of the German words "schom" meaning "climbing" and "erle" meaning "oak" and would likely have been given to a person known to be good at climbing oak trees.
Finally, the surname Schömir, which means "provider of protection or shelter," likely originated as an occupational surname for a protector or guard.
Famous people with the name Schormair
- Bassam Schormair: German politician
- Alexander Schormair: German neurogeneticist
- Florian Schormair: German soccer player for FC Nürnberg
- Ferdinand Schormair: German entrepreneur
- Tom Schormair: German actor
- Brigitte Schormair: German businesswoman
- Helmut Schormair: German composer
- Ulrich Schormair: German editor
- Albert Schormair: German screenwriter
- Ulrich Schormair: German linguistics scholar