Surname Hubmaier

[Pictus]

Hello, I would like to know if anyone here bears this surname (which my grandfaher beared) or knows its origin? I am really curious about this surname's etymology so if anyone can help with any of these questions, I would be thankful.

[Thusnelda]

"Hubmaier" is a typical Bavarian surname, a name who denotes a work/job. It consists of two parts: "Hub" comes from "Heben" and means "to trench". "Maier" or "Meier" denoted (originally) an administration secretary, later it was used for tenants of manors before it became the designation for "peasant manor" itself. "Meierrecht" (Meier Law) is proven since 1290.

So it´s very likely that the first bearer of the family name was someone who trenched the acre or field on a peasant manor.

Distribution of people with the name "Hubmaier" in Germany prove a clear focus on Bavaria:

http://www.verwandt.de/karten/absolut/hubmaier.html

[Pictus]

"Hubmaier" is a typical Bavarian surname, a name who denotes a work/job. It consists of two parts: "Hub" comes from "Heben" and means "to trench". "Maier" or "Meier" denoted (originally) an administration secretary, later it was used for tenants of manors before it became the designation for "peasant manor" itself. "Meierrecht" (Meier Law) is proven since 1290.

So it´s very likely that the first bearer of the family name was someone who trenched the acre or field on a peasant manor.

Distribution of people with the name "Hubmaier" in Germany prove a clear focus on Bavaria:

http://www.verwandt.de/karten/absolut/hubmaier.html

Thank you a lot, now I can be proud of German roots as well .

[Thusnelda]

Thank you a lot, now I can be proud of German roots as well .

...and especially of your Bavarian roots, supreme and finest genes!

[Sigurd]

What should be mentioned is that Mayr/Mair/Maier/Mayer/Meir/Meyr/Meier is the most common name in Austria as well (if counting together all the spellings; for a single-spelling surname it's my father's surname, Gruber, followed by Huber).

Combinations with other elements is also common: Doppelmayer, Kothmaier, etc. --- curiously enough Hubmaier is rare in Austria, even though it is made up of the elements found in Huber (3rd most common) and Maier (most common), but basically you're talking Austro-Bavarian ancestry there, which is always good.

[Loyalist]

Thusnelda and Sigurd, sorry to be a pain, but you're evidently well-versed with German surname etymology, and I was wondering if you could provide assistance for one of my lines. The name is similar to those discussed here, so I thought it's worth a try. One of my father's German forbears had the surname Tafelmeier, which has also been spelt, or subsequently changed to, Tafelmeyer, Dafelmeyer, Tofflemire, etc. The family originated in Lenningen, Baden-Württemberg (although historical records name the town as Oberlenningen), before heading to the Colonies. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Thusnelda]

The name is similar to those discussed here, so I thought it's worth a try. One of my father's German forbears had the surname Tafelmeier, which has also been spelt, or subsequently changed to, Tafelmeyer, Dafelmeyer, Tofflemire, etc.

Well, the name consists of two parts as well and contains "Meier" like the other name above. The definition of what "-meier" denotes stands. "Tafel" means "board", "plate" or "table" in German. So the etymology of Tafelmeier is a bit hard. It could have been someone who constructed plates or boards for the infrastructure of the peasant manor. "Tafel" is also an old German word for "food bank", like in "Die Ritter der Tafelrunde" = "The knights of the round table". "Zur Tafel gehen" means "To go to the dining table". My idea of the origin of the name is that it was either a worker and constructor of inventory or someone who prepared/provided the food bank with meals. But I´m not 100% sure on this, maybe Sigurd knows more.