Submitted Surname Revision History

German: from an agent derivative of Middle High German aigen ‘own’ a status name originally denoting a landowner who held his land outright rather than by rent or feudal obligation. In the Middle Ages this was sufficiently rare to be worthy of remark and was normally a special privilege granted in recognition of some exceptional service. German: habitational name for someone from any of the places called Aigen (Bavaria Austria) or Eigen (North Rhine-Westphalia Bavaria Austria Switzerland). Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from German Eigner ‘owner’. Also used in France with french pronunciation (an-yay).