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Wendelstedt is a surname taken from an old locality in greater Saxony, Germany. Stedt is used of predominantly 8-10th C settlements, the equivalent of English -stead, as in Hampstead. According to German wikipedia "It is particularly common in the Old Saxon settlement area from the North Sea in the north to Saxony-Anhalt to the Thuringian Basin in the south. North and east of Erfurt in the former Prussian territories -stedt is common, while in the south and west of that city in former Ernestine-Saxon areas -städt is more frequently represented." Wendel is a form of the ethnic name known better to you as Vandal (possibly meaning wanderer), but it is also commonly applied, as were certain other ethnic names (Dane, Geat [inhabitants of Götaland in southern Sweden like the hero of Beowulf], Walch [probably originally the Volcae of northern Gaul, but later applied to all Celts, and also any other non-Germans — Old English Wealhstod means "translator", not just "Welsh-speaker"], Finn, Swab [Swabian], Wened [Wends, or in Tacitus Veneti, reflecting southern German speach), and in Britain Peht/Piht [Pict]), as a personal name or the first part of a personal name; so Wendelstedt means either Vandal-settlement, or Wendel's settlement (Latin V, now usually said as an allophone of /f/, was originally a /u/ or /w/). It doesn't appear to be a current location name though, and may have just been a small village or farm no longer existing under that name.

This message was edited 10/22/2018, 4:46 PM