Surname Toennies - Meaning and Origin
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Toennies: What does the surname Toennies mean?
The last name Toennies is derived from the German word "Tönnies", which means a person from a small village or a local inhabitant of a place. It is most likely of Germanic origin and often spelled "Tönnies," although the spelling of the name may also be found as "Tunnes," "Tunneis," "Tönnies" or "Toennies."
The name Toennies is extremely uncommon in the United States, with an estimated population of just over two thousand people bearing it. The Tönnies surname is particularly common in parts of Germany, including in the states of Bavaria, Thuringia, and Saxony.
The region is known for its rural, traditional lifestyle and farming industry. The surname likely indicates that the Toennies family descended from a local farmer or someone who lived in a small village in the area.
The Toennies surname has evolved over time and variations of the name are still used today. In addition to Toennies, some common variations of the surname include Tonneis, Tunneis, Toenies, and Tunnes.
The Toennies last name is often associated with tradition and rural regions. It is likely that the Toennies family values and pastimes are rooted in German culture or the culture of their native region. Examples of values or pastimes popular among the Toennies family may include hunting, fishing, crafts, and folk music.
The Toennies surname carries a unique heritage and a strong connection to German culture. It is likely that the Toennies family is proud of their roots and continues to appreciate their German heritage.
Order DNA origin analysisToennies: Where does the name Toennies come from?
The Toennies surname is common throughout Germany. The name originates from the Old German Tann meaning fir tree. In German, the suffix “-ies” is a patronymic; it literally means “son of Tann”. The surname Toennies is particularly common in the Rhineland, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Lower Saxony—the ancestral home of the Toennies family. At its peak, the name Toennies was the 305th most common surname in Germany.
Outside of Germany, the Toennies surname is still fairly common. Toennies is among the top 4,000 surnames in the Netherlands and the top 250 surnames in Austria. In the United States, the Toennies name is the 11,459th most common surname, according to the US Census Bureau. There are currently around 4,000 people with the surname Toennies living in the US, primarily in Texas and California.
Immigration records from the early 1900s also show that Toennies was a popular surname for German immigrants to the United States. This demonstrates the historical significance of the Toennies name, as it shows that many generations of the family have been proud to carry on the tradition of using the same surname. Today, the Toennies surname remains common across the world, connecting a vast number of people through its legacy.
Variations of the surname Toennies
The Toennies surname is of German origin. It is derived from the Middle High German word tūning, which means enclosure or settlement and refers to someone who lived near an enclosure or settlement. The surname is commonly found in Germany, as well as other countries with large German populations. Variations on the spelling of the surname Toennies include Toennig, Taennig, Daennig, Teennig and Tönnig. It can also be found as the surnames Tuning, Tunning, Toenning and Tunning, although these are often of different origins.
In some cases, the spelling of the surname has changed over time, resulting in multiple spellings of the same surname being found. For example, the surname Toenning can be found in some records spelled as Tenning or Brenning, and the surname Tuning can be found spelled as Taning or Dunning. In some cases, the spelling of the surname has been changed to reflect different regional dialects, such as Thuring, Thoeny or Th scattered through the German speaking region.
In some cases, the spelling is based on a patronymic derivation, often beginning with the prefix von or de, for example von Toennies or de Toennig. These versions of the surname are often a result of an ancestor of the Toennies family being granted a hereditary title or privileges by a former ruling family.
Surnames of the same origin often carry different spellings reflecting the original spelling of the ancestor's name and language. Surnames from different origins can also share similar spellings reflecting a different language of origin or an ancestor's marriage into a family with a different surname.
Famous people with the name Toennies
- Ferdinand Toennies: German sociologist who is best known for his distinction between Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft.
- Klaus Toennies: German physicist and doctor at Ruhr University Bochum.
- Amelie Toennies: German diver and 2-time Olympic champion.
- Ralf Toennies: Former manager and chairman of the Bundesliga club Schalke 04.
- Andi Toennies: German football coach and former player.
- Mylene Toennies: German television presenter.
- Herbert Toennies: German chemist who served as president of the German Chemical Society.
- Gerhard Toennies: German economist and professor at the University of Regensburg.
- Martin Toennies: German businessperson and owner of Toennies Group.
- Sophie Toennies: German television actress best known for her role in the soap opera Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten.
- Peter Toennies: German politician who served as the minister-president of Lower Saxony from 1967 to 1976.