NamensArchiv

What do you know about your name?

Dictionaries know where a name comes from. The story behind it is often known only to the family. Leave it in the archive — so it doesn't get lost.

What belongs in the archive

Where your family comes from — town, region, country
The earliest ancestor you know of, with a year
Earlier spellings of the name
Trades, farms, crafts in the family
Emigration, flight, resettlement
The stories your family tells about the name

Family name

Your entry 0 / 4000

Bullet points are fine. Your entry is not published — it stays with us in the archive. Please don't include details about living people other than yourself.

Town or region optional

Earliest record optional

Your name optional

I agree that the NamensArchiv stores my entry and adds it to its records on the name. It will not be published. Details in the privacy policy.

Free · not public · can be changed or deleted at any time

Filed in the archive

Thank you. Your entry on your name has arrived.

We've saved it and sent a confirmation to your address.

Will you help us keep the archive open?

The archive is free for everyone — carried by readers like you. Your contribution is noted on your entry.

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What your contribution is for

Every entry takes time. Reading, checking, comparing with sources, putting it in context.
Running the archive costs money every month. Servers, databases, source access, research.
It stays independent. No publisher, no investor — carried by readers like you.
Your contribution is recorded. We note your support on your entry — as a patron of the archive.

One-off, no subscription · secure payment via Stripe · support for Deutsche Chroniken · no donation receipt · § 19 UStG

For you, on the name

Your family knowledge belongs in your book.

What you've just entered is exactly what belongs in "The Book of Your Name": a 50-page hardcover about your name — origin, historical maps, a family tree to fill in, your photos and stories. We already have your entry, and it goes in. Plus your personal name video.

See the book · €59.90

Ordered from this page, your video, certificate and book are produced in English. Payment receipts from Stripe may be in German.

Incl. shipping and name video · Orders by 10 Dec arrive in time for Christmas · Just the video? €12.90

What happens with your entry next

We read it. Every entry is read individually — by a person, not a filter.
We cross-check it. Places, dates and spellings are checked against our sources.
It goes into the file. Your knowledge becomes part of what the archive knows about the name. It is never made public.

Not right now? That's completely fine — your entry stays in the archive just the same. It also helps if you pass the page on within your family: enter another name or research a name.