Surname Sellmair - Meaning and Origin
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Sellmair: What does the surname Sellmair mean?
The last name Sellmair is a German surname stemming from the word ‘sellemere’ which means 'sale merchant'. This was likely a name that was adopted by someone involved in the sale and trading of goods. It would have originally been a nickname for a successful merchant or trader in Bavaria, where the name is especially common.
The name Sellmair likely had Jewish roots, as some Jewish families in Bavaria used the name or variations of it. It is sometimes written as Sellmaier, Selmaier, Sellmeyer, or Sellmayr and would have been commonly transcribed due to the difficulty in pronouncing some of those German names correctly. It is likely to have been a patronymic name.
The Sellmair name is found all over Germany, mainly in Bavaria, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg though there are some recorded in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is also found in Austria, the Netherlands, and in other countries around the world to which people bearing the name have emigrated.
The Sellmair coat of arms was recorded in the archives of the Kaiserlich und Koniglich Hofkanzlei in Vienna in 1902. The design is based around a shield which has two lions’ heads in an arch, a crescent, a fess and a base line. It symbolises strength and courage and also honours the bearer’s ancestors who also bore the Sellmair name.
Order DNA origin analysisSellmair: Where does the name Sellmair come from?
The last name Sellmair is primarily found in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland today. It is especially common in the Bavarian region of Germany near the Austrian border. It is believed by some researchers to be derived from the Middle High German word "sellenmair" which literally translates to "willful."
In present-day, Sellmair is still highly concentrated in Bavaria. One notable city where many Sellmairs still live is Munich, the capital of Bavaria. Other prominent towns with Sellmair residents are Augsburg, Nuremberg, and Regensburg.
The spread of the surname Sellmair has been aided by immigration and relocation. People with the name Sellmair have moved to the US, Canada, Australia, and other countries throughout the world. The name has also spread throughout Germany, with Sellmairs living in cities such as Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt am Main.
Overall, the surname Sellmair is closely associated with the area of Bavaria in Germany. The name has spread throughout the world and in recent years there has been a slight increase in its prevalence outside of the traditional German-speaking countries.
Variations of the surname Sellmair
Sellmair is a rare German surname, and a number of variants exist around it.
The most common variants of Sellmair are Selmair, Saelmaier, Selmaier, Salmair, Selmayer, Salmayer, Salmerer, Salmayr, Selmayr, Salmeyer, Selmeyer, Sellmeyer, Saelmeier, Salmeier, Selmeier, Sellmaier, and Sellmeyer.
All of these variants are related surnames with the same origin, likely derived from the Old German “sal” which means “sal” or “salt”, combined with “maier”, which means “farmer” or “landowner”. As such, the surname indicates it was likely originally held by somebody who worked as a salter or a salt farmer.
In many areas, the variants of Sellmair have been given different spellings, such as Sellmaer, Sellamer, Saelmaer, Saelamer, Selmaer, Selamer, Salmaer, Salamer, Selmeyer, Selmayer, Saelmeir, Saelmair, Selmeir, and Selmair.
Another related surname is Salmir. This version of the name is most likely derived from the Old German “salb”, which means “brine” combined with the root “mir”, which means “peace”. As such, this version of the name is likely to have been held by somebody who worked as a salt worker, and is likely related to the original Sellmair surname.
It is possible there could be even more variants and spellings of the Sellmair surname, as this name originated centuries ago and was subject to different dialects and regional influence.
Famous people with the name Sellmair
- Konrad Sellmair: an accomplished composer, arranger, and orchestrator from Germany.
- Ludwig Sellmair: German politician and member of the Democratic Party who served for multiple terms in the Hessian Parliament.
- Emma Sellmair: award-winning Austrian pianist and composer.
- Tobias Sellmair: German Paralympic table tennis athlete who has won numerous medals in the sport.
- Max Sellmair: Swiss music label executive who has been involved in multiple producer projects.
- Urs Sellmair: German mathematician and academic who has published on logic and graph theory, as well as the Philosophic Foundations of Mathematics.
- Vladimir Sellmair: a Russian philanthropist, entrepreneur, and technology expert.
- Gustav Sellmair: a prominent German orchestra violinist and conductor.
- Robert Sellmair: an Austrian figure skater and Olympic competitor.
- André Sellmair: German classical music composer and lyricist.