Surname Tenz - Meaning and Origin
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Tenz: What does the surname Tenz mean?
The last name Tenz is of German origin and is thought to be derived from the personal name Antonius or Anthony. It is believed to have initially been an occupational name, indicating someone who owned a small holding called Tunich. In Germany, the name is considered aristocratic and noble, tracing back to the Middle Ages.
The earliest known record of the last name Tenz comes from records during the 16th century in Germany. Records show the name Tenz or variants appearing in various Germanic provinces, predominantly in Weissenburg, Westeifel, and Schwaben.
The name Tenz is most commonly found in Germany and Austria, though a few bearers of the name have migrated to the United States, Canada, France and the United Kingdom. In its earliest uses, the name was more commonly found among important families in Germanic cities.
The meaning of the name Tenz has historically been interpreted as deriving from one's stature or position in society, with the prefix ‘ten’ connotating ‘over’ or ‘superior’ and the suffix ‘z’ denoting a noble standing.
The Tenz surname is generally thought to be a patronymic surname, meaning that it was originally passed down through generation from a father to their son. It is also thought to have occasionally been used for adoptive or illegitimate (illegitimized) children.
Today, many of the original bearers of the name Tenz have been lost to history, and the name is still not particularly common, though it is still used in some parts of Germany and Austria.
Order DNA origin analysisTenz: Where does the name Tenz come from?
The surname Tenz is an uncommon name of German origin. It is present today primarily in two countries: Germany and the United States. There are currently more than 2,900 people in Germany with the last name Tenz, with high concentrations living in the states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. Meanwhile, Tenz is present in the United States with more than 1,400 people. Most of them reside in California, followed by Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida, in that order.
Tenz appears to be a relatively uncommon name in Germany, so it is likely a rare name in the United States as well. Even so, there are still a significant number of Tenz families that can be found by searching historical records. It is likely that the majority of Tenzes living in the US today are descendants of immigrants who came from Germany when the first Tenzes arrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
As a result, it may be difficult to find many more Tenzes throughout the world today. What is certain, however, is that those who carry the name are connected in some way to an ancient German lineage. They carry the traditions and culture of their ancestral homeland, and each person with the last name Tenz is part of a larger global community.
Variations of the surname Tenz
The surname Tenz has several variants, spellings, and surnames of the same origin. The most common spelling of this surname is Tenz, although it may be spelled with an “-e-” or an “-i-” as Tenze, Tenzi, Tenzei. It may also be spelled Tanze, Tanz, Tonze, Tonz, Tonzi, Tonzei, or Tonsz.
The variants of Tenz with have roots in Germanic names include Tanke, Tenke, and Tanker. The variants beginning with “T-a-n-” have roots in Greek names, such as Tanos. The variants beginning with “Ton-” have Italian origins, with Tonsoni, Tonaini, Toneri and Tonsi being all related to Tenz.
In some regions, variants with similar sounds may be used as surnames, such as Tansik, Tailor, Tool, Toll, Talor or Tellor. Other variants may have been changed in spelling over time. For example, Tenz may have initially evolved from Tencke, and transformed over time to Teng, Tanko, and Tao.
The origin of the surname Tenz may be traced to Middle Low German, where it is believed to be derived from “Tenke”, meaning “copper inside”. These variants may date back even further, to the Old Dutch and Old High German languages, where Tenz may have come from the word “tanc”, meaning “to think”.
Famous people with the name Tenz
- Xavier Tenz: Xavier Tenz is a professional eventer from Switzerland who is well known for competing in the highly competitive sport of showjumping and eventing at top-level competitions around the world.
- Pascal Tenz: Pascal Tenz is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for FC Sion. He has also been capped by the Swiss national team.
- Raymond Tenz: Raymond Tenz is a Swiss retired ice hockey player. He represented Switzerland at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, and competed in the Ice Hockey World Championships four times.
- Monika Tenz: Monika Tenz is a Swiss photograph and former model. She has been published in many European magazines and has been a featured guest in multiple television programs.
- Emma Tenz: Emma Tenz is a Swiss politician and was a Member of the National Council of Switzerland for the Social Democratic Party from 2007 to 2015.
- Yves Tenz: Yves Tenz is a Swiss former middle distance runner who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- Marc Tenz: Marc Tenz is a Swiss professional golfer who currently plays on the Alps Tour. He has also represented his country in golf at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 2018 World Cup of Golf.
- Daniela Tenz: Daniela Tenz is a Swiss paralympic athlete who competed in the track and field events at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. She specialised in the high jump and long jump disciplines.
- Patrick Tenz: Patrick Tenz is a Swiss alpine skier who competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. His best result was fifth place in the men's alpine combined event, and he also competed in two other events.
- Yulia Tenz: Yulia Tenz is a Swiss model and television presenter. She won the Miss Universe Switzerland pageant in 2011, and is best known for hosting the late night show "Saturday Night Fever" and for her roles on the Swiss TV shows "Blickfang" and "Unser Song für Österreich".