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Help[Surname] Re: Origin of Name Von Ritiz or Ritiz
in reply to a message by Andy Schwier
Well, for the "von" part, from Wikipedia:
In German, von [fɔn] is a preposition which approximately means of or from. When it is used as a part of a German family name, it is usually a nobiliary particle, like the French, Spanish and Portuguese "de". At certain times and places, it has been illegal for anyone who was not a member of the nobility to use von before their family name. However, in the Middle Ages the "von" particle was still a common part of names and was widely used also by commoners, e.g. "Hans von Duisburg" meant Hans from [the city of] Duisburg. The Dutch "Van", which is a cognate of "Von" but does not indicate nobility, can be said to have preserved this earlier meaning.
I can't find the surname Ritiz in my German surname books. It is tipical to have a name of a city after "von" in German surnames, but I'm not aware of any Ritiz. Are you sure it isn't Ritz?
In German, von [fɔn] is a preposition which approximately means of or from. When it is used as a part of a German family name, it is usually a nobiliary particle, like the French, Spanish and Portuguese "de". At certain times and places, it has been illegal for anyone who was not a member of the nobility to use von before their family name. However, in the Middle Ages the "von" particle was still a common part of names and was widely used also by commoners, e.g. "Hans von Duisburg" meant Hans from [the city of] Duisburg. The Dutch "Van", which is a cognate of "Von" but does not indicate nobility, can be said to have preserved this earlier meaning.
I can't find the surname Ritiz in my German surname books. It is tipical to have a name of a city after "von" in German surnames, but I'm not aware of any Ritiz. Are you sure it isn't Ritz?
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