Many surnames end in berg (mountain). Stein (stone), Weiss (white), Gold, etc. The only name (I am aware of) that ends in burg (city) is Ginsburg. Ginsberg is also a name. What does Gins mean here? How is there are the two names? Are there any other surnames with burg?
berg vs. burg
- Thread starter mathman
- Start date
DaveC426913
Valued Senior Member
It seems, according to this poster, that burg more specifically means fort:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/soc.genealogy.german/elmHINAUot0
"The surname Ginsburg is a habitational name, derived from the places named Gunzberg, in Bavaria, Günzburg, in Swabia, or Gintsshprik, which is the Yiddish name for Königsburg, in East Prussia."
https://www.houseofnames.com/ginsburg-family-crest
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/soc.genealogy.german/elmHINAUot0
"The surname Ginsburg is a habitational name, derived from the places named Gunzberg, in Bavaria, Günzburg, in Swabia, or Gintsshprik, which is the Yiddish name for Königsburg, in East Prussia."
https://www.houseofnames.com/ginsburg-family-crest
Hamburg, Salzburg, Johannesburg, to name 3 others.
Burgh is a closely related term and far more common in the UK (e.g. Edinburgh), although Burg in English I believe was a dialect variant of Burgh... but ultimately all coming from the old German. In the UK it also led to the -bury variant (e.g. Canterbury, Banbury, Newbury etc).
I am well aware of the fact that burg appears in place names. My question was about surnames of people. From the previous post it appears that Ginsburg is derived from a place name.Hamburg, Salzburg, Johannesburg, to name 3 others.
Burgh is a closely related term and far more common in the UK (e.g. Edinburgh), although Burg in English I believe was a dialect variant of Burgh... but ultimately all coming from the old German. In the UK it also led to the -bury variant (e.g. Canterbury, Banbury, Newbury etc).
Brandenburg (like Brandenburg gate) is a place name in Germany.
sculptor
Valued Senior Member
and
many who came to this country used the place names from whence they came as their surnames.
our local dnr ranger's name is Billerbeck----
(perhaps that was once preceded with "von" ?)
Seems more likely that a person would be named after a town than a mountain, doesn't it?
DaveC426913
Valued Senior Member
Both are places from which one can hail.
Ah, my apologies. Anyhoo - Hapsburg/Habsburg is probably the most famous example. Then there's Friedburg, Hamburg, Rodenburg... all German, all based on cities, I believe.
exchemist
Valued Senior Member
Then there is also the French bourg, used to mean a town or even the centre of a village, hence bourgeois, etc.
Serge Gainsbourg, Strasbourg.......
True, but cities tend to be more commonly used as names. London is a more common name than Matterhorn.
If a person is "from" a place, cities tend to be more habitable places than moutains.
Hmm.... Rodenbouough... Roddenbury... Roddenberry?
Among Jews, names ending in berg (like mine) are a lot more common than those ending in burg.
DaveC426913
Valued Senior Member
I thought it was "Ed'nbruh".
exchemist
Valued Senior Member
Well they're about the same.
You guys are always swimming upstream, aren't you?