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ArchivesRe: Horkheimer and Rimensberger
in reply to a message by Charls
I'd be curious to know what your source is for relating Hork to Hock since the two most reliable German surname dictionaries, i.e., Bahlow and Kohlheim & Kohlheim, make no mention of this.
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I've now found a surname that is probably the original, Hochheimer, a surname much more common than Horkheimer. Hochheimer is a habitational name for someone from Hochheim, Germany. More variants I have found are Hirchheimer, Hirschheimer, Hochkammer, and Hoheimer, as you can see here http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gl=allgs&gsln=Hochheimer&gspl=52&gss=seo&ghc=20 . The surname Hirchheimer and Hochkammer are not found in Germany, so maybe they are variant spellings of Hochheimer, a surname mostly found in Germany. The name hoch means "high", and so the name Hochheim means, "high settlement". This means that Horkheimer is actually a variant of Hochheimer, also as Hockheimer. The word Hock could also derive from Hoch also.
The name "Hork" alone seems unusual. While doing research on the surname Hork, I found that Hork was a Swedish name, and a Dutch name. The Dutch form is Van Der Hork, and the Swedish form is Hörk, but I don't know their meanings yet though. The name Heimer is also a Swedish surname, so Horkheimer could possibly be Swedish. The downfall is that I could not find the form Hörkheimer, so maybe not. The reason why I say unusual because this surname Hork is quite rare in Germany, and not much German surnames contain "Hork" as the first element. The few I've found were Horkstrom, Horkenbach, and Horkman. Horkman and Horkstrom are only found in the U.S., so perhaps an English form of a German surname. This lead me to conclude that Hork is actually a variant, and the closes connection I could see was Hock/Hoch. Because of the pronounciation of Hork in German, sounding like "huhk", I've found the surname Hockheimer, and later Hochheimer, Hochheim.
You were wondering where was my source. Well, to tell you the truth, I am mostly the source. I did not find any sources or mentionings about the name Hork and its origins, or Horkheimer, so I began to do research myself based on database I've looked into like http://www.ancestry.com/, http://worldnames.publicprofiler.org/Default.aspx, and many others.
The name "Hork" alone seems unusual. While doing research on the surname Hork, I found that Hork was a Swedish name, and a Dutch name. The Dutch form is Van Der Hork, and the Swedish form is Hörk, but I don't know their meanings yet though. The name Heimer is also a Swedish surname, so Horkheimer could possibly be Swedish. The downfall is that I could not find the form Hörkheimer, so maybe not. The reason why I say unusual because this surname Hork is quite rare in Germany, and not much German surnames contain "Hork" as the first element. The few I've found were Horkstrom, Horkenbach, and Horkman. Horkman and Horkstrom are only found in the U.S., so perhaps an English form of a German surname. This lead me to conclude that Hork is actually a variant, and the closes connection I could see was Hock/Hoch. Because of the pronounciation of Hork in German, sounding like "huhk", I've found the surname Hockheimer, and later Hochheimer, Hochheim.
You were wondering where was my source. Well, to tell you the truth, I am mostly the source. I did not find any sources or mentionings about the name Hork and its origins, or Horkheimer, so I began to do research myself based on database I've looked into like http://www.ancestry.com/, http://worldnames.publicprofiler.org/Default.aspx, and many others.
This message was edited 12/8/2012, 6:56 PM
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As I suspected, you have absolutely no evidence for any of this. Onomastics is not a guessing game and you should refrain from indulging in this kind of idle speculation. You're not doing your credibility any good with the kinds of unsubstantiated claims you keep putting forth.
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Sometimes surnames don't offer any evidence in records that leads to its true origin. You have to speculate, and if you are really "good at it", the origin is highly probable. Talking to someone with this surname could get me closer to the origin though.
I'll throw in this "twist". The word "Hork" from a place called Horkheim, Germany is derived from the Old High German hor, meaning "mud, swampy". Note that this is not a contradiction, but an inclusion. Perhaps you have misjudge me. You knew nothing about the meaning of Hork, so I gave my best shot, increasing my credibility of course.
I'll throw in this "twist". The word "Hork" from a place called Horkheim, Germany is derived from the Old High German hor, meaning "mud, swampy". Note that this is not a contradiction, but an inclusion. Perhaps you have misjudge me. You knew nothing about the meaning of Hork, so I gave my best shot, increasing my credibility of course.
This message was edited 12/11/2012, 6:56 PM
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