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ArchivesRe: Origin of Name Von Ritiz or Ritiz
Need to find origin of name Von Ritiz or Ritiz. Family name now is Ritiz. Older family members said name was Von Ritiz. Is Von just a title? Hope someone can help out. Believe name to be german.
Andy Schwier
Andy Schwier
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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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