RUNSER - MEANING OF SURNAME
Runser is my mother's maternal name. Runser family immigrated to the United States in 1840 from Alsace, France, although my Grandmother always said they were German. I cannot find the meaning or the general area they might be from.
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My maternal grandmother was Mary Ida Runser, born in Ohio. The family was from Alsace-Lorraine.
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Runser is without doubt an Alsatian surname, and in most cases that means a German surname, linguistically speaking. Alsace has always been disputed territory and has been part of both France and Germany in its history.
Here's a page about Runser in Alsace. A couple of snags; it doesn't give the meaning, and it's in French, though the map might be helpful -
http://www.geopatronyme.com/cgi-bin/carte/nomcarte.cgi?nom=Runser&submit=Valider&client=cdip
The meaning is not explained anywhere as far as I can see, not in my French or German sources. One German website states that, if the name exists in Germany, it has less than 300 bearers. Rare surnames don't always get noticed.
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