Surname Wurmmehl - Meaning and Origin
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Wurmmehl: What does the surname Wurmmehl mean?
The last name Wurmmehl is of German origin, stemming from the German word “wurm” meaning “worm”, and has been part of German families since the Middle Ages. In some cases, it was used to refer to people who worked with natural materials such as worms and other stream dwellers to extract oil and other natural resources. It was also a popular surname among those who hunted, fished or were farmers, as these professions often required physical contact with the soil and its inhabitants.
The name Wurmmehl itself could have been derived from the combining of two German words, “wurm” and “mehl”, to create a descriptive meaning. “Mehl” translates to “flour” or “meal”, so together the name might signify someone who worked with worm meal—grounds up or dried compost made with worms, combined with other natural materials.
The origin of the Wurmmehl name only adds to the mystery of its unique spelling. In Germany, families who had the last name at the time of the first World War adopted many different spellings to evade the military draft, with many members of the same family occasionally possessing different spellings. Despite the dozens of ways the Wurmmehl surname can be spelt, its origin tying its bearer to workings of the earth still remains, a small way of connecting families to one another, locally and across the globe, for centuries.
Order DNA origin analysisWurmmehl: Where does the name Wurmmehl come from?
The last name Wurmmehl is most common today in regions of the former Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was a kingdom and later a German state prior to World War II, and covered parts of northeastern Germany, western Poland, and some other areas of east-central Europe. The original homeland of the Wurmmehl family was around the regions of East Prussia and Pomerania.
Tracing back the history of the last name, it was first used in 15th Century East Prussia by a prominent family who gained wealth and influence. It is thought that the family took the name Wurmmehl after the small village of Wurmehl in East Prussia.
In the 19th Century, some of the descendants of the Wurmmehl family emigrated to North America, making the last name present in the United States, Canada, and other nearby countries.
Today, the last name Wurmmehl is distributed in many regions, including places still associated with the former Kingdom of Prussia. High concentrations of people with the last name Wurmmehl can be found in northern Germany, especially in the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg. Additionally, there are relatively high counts of Wurmmehl in places like the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Overall, the last name Wurmmehl has persisted for many centuries and is still common today in regions where people historically associated with the former Kingdom of Prussia still reside.
Variations of the surname Wurmmehl
The surname Wurmmehl, also spelled Wurmmeel, is derived from German words meaning “worm meal” and is likely an occupational surname referring to someone who sold, produced, or stored helminthic feed. It is a relatively rare name and variations include Wurmehl, Wurmeil, Würmehl, Würmeil, and Würmmehl.
The surnames Wurm and Worme also have similar origins and there are various variant spellings, including Wurm, Wurme, Wurmme, Wörm, Wörmme, Wörme, and Wörmehl; however, these variants are not necessarily from the same root as Wurmmehl.
In some cases, the surname has been translated into English spelling, such as Warmel. Other surnames of similar origin include Wurmbacher, Wurmbah, Wimpfling, and Wurmling.
Wurmmehl is also a surname found in Dutch-speaking countries, where it is spelled differently, such as 'Wurmel’ or ‘Wurmeel’. Depending on the region, it can also be spelled as Würmel or Würmeel in German phonetics.
Finally, some members of the family have adopted hyphenated spellings of the surname, such as ‘Wurm-Mehl’ or ‘Wormmehl-Wurmmehl’. Overall, Wurmmehl is a unique surname that is part of a small group of German and Dutch names.
Famous people with the name Wurmmehl
- Peter Wurmmehl: Chefkoch and television presenter from Germany. He presents the cooking shows "Auf den Gastronomie-Tisch" and "Kochen mit Freunden".
- Erich Wurmmehl: German sport shooter who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.
- Ludwig Wurmmehl: German botanist and entomologist. He is known for his research of phytopathogenic fungi, myxomycetes, and bacteria.
- Cathy Wurmmehl: German ice hockey player. She competed in the 1998 Winter Olympics.
- Robert Wurmmehl: Hollywood stuntman and actor known for his work on films such as Zombieland and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
- Sascha Wurmmehl: German professional racing cyclist. He competed in the 2010 Vuelta a España.
- Rudolph Wurmmehl: German-born British zoologist and collector of zoological specimens. He is noted for his collection of fruit flies.
- Hermann Wurmmehl: German dermatologist and medical author. He is known for his works on the theory of pustular eczema.
- Reinhold Wurmmehl: German-American chess master, journalist, and composer. He is well known in the chess world for authoring the first German chess handbook "Die Ohne Figur."
- Max Wurmmehl: Swiss footballer. He played for FC Schaffhausen and the Swiss national team.