Rohlfs

Rohlfs
Recorded in over fifty different spellings including as examples Rolf, Roffe, Ruff and Ruffell in England, Rudolf and Rotlauf in Germany, Rohlf in Switzerland, Ridulfo and Firidolfi in Italy, and Roelof in the Netherlands, this is a surname of pre 7th century Nordic-Viking origins. It derives ultimately from the personal name 'Hrodwulf', itself from the period in history known as The Dark Ages, when names were largely pagan in ancestry, and tended to extoll the undoubted virtues of godliness, strength and purpose. This particular name was composed of the elements "hrod", meaning "renown" and "wulf", literally the wolf, and originally may have referred to a particular warrior or chieftain. In the Norse language the contracted form was "Hrolfr", and in Danish and Swedish "Rolf", and it was in these forms that they reached Northern Europe in the 8th century. It is not absolutely certain as to the first recording date of the hereditary surname, but it was amongst the earliest of all surnames. Examples taken from authentic rolls and charters of the medieval period include: Johan Rodolfi of Hamburg, Germany, in 1252, Robert Rolf, of Battle, in the county of Sussex, England, in 1272, Jakob Rufi, given as being a priest in Zurich, Switzerland, in the year 1300, and Johan Rudolf of Andelshoven, Germany, in 1332. In the church registers of London, England, the marriage of John Roffe and Elizabeth Blythe was recorded at St. Stephan's, Coleman Street, on November 3rd 1560. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop", often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Rohlfs — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Anna Katharine Rohlfs (1846–1935), US amerikanische Schriftstellerin Arnold Rohlfs (1808–1882), deutscher Orgelbauer Charles Rohlfs (1853–1936), US amerikanischer Möbeldesigner Christian Rohlfs (1849–1938) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rohlfs — is the surname of *Anna Katharine Rohlfs (Green) (1846 1935), American author *Charles Rohlfs (1853 1936), American furniture artist *Christian Rohlfs (1849 1938), German artist *Eva Ahnert Rohlfs (1912 1954), German astronomer *Ewald Rohlfs… …   Wikipedia

  • Rohlfs — Rohlfs,   1) Christian, Maler und Grafiker, * Niendorf (bei Bad Segeberg) 22. 11. 1849, ✝ Hagen 8. 1. 1938; lehrte in Weimar und Hagen. Er malte zunächst stimmungsvolle realistische Landschaften, nahm dann Anregungen vom französischen… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Rohlfs — Rohlfs, 1) Gottfried Heinrich, medizin. Schriftsteller, geb. 17. Juni 1827 in Vegesack, gest. 5. Mai 1898 in Wiesbaden, studierte in Göttingen, Würzburg, Berlin, Prag und Paris, ließ sich als Arzt in Vegesack, 1860 in Bremen nieder, lebte dann… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Rohlfs — Rohlfs, Gerhard, Afrikareisender, geb. 14. April 1831 in Vegesack, machte 1855 60 als Arzt in franz. Diensten die Feldzüge in Algerien mit, bereiste 1860 64 Marokko, entdeckte 1862 und 1863 die Oasen Tafilet und Tuat, zog 1865 66 von Tripolis… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Rohlfs —  Cette page d’homonymie répertorie des personnes (réelles ou fictives) partageant un même patronyme. Charles Rohlfs (1853 1936), designer américain ; Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs (1831 1896), géographe, explorateur et écrivain… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Rohlfs — patronymische Bildung (starker Genitiv) zu Rohlf. Bekannter Namensträger: Christian Rohlfs, deutscher Maler und Grafiker (19./20.Jh.) …   Wörterbuch der deutschen familiennamen

  • Rohlfs-Orgel — Johann Gottfried Rohlfs (* 27. Juni 1759 in Esens; † 25. Juli 1847 ebenda) war ein Orgelbauer aus Esens, der in Ostfriesland wirkte. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Werke 3 Literatur 4 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rohlfs, Christian — ▪ German artist born December 22, 1849, Niendorf, Germany died January 8, 1938, Hagen       German painter and printmaker who worked in an Expressionist (Expressionism) style.       Rohlfs studied art in the 1870s in Weimar, Germany, where he was …   Universalium

  • Rohlfs, Gerhard — ▪ German explorer born April 14, 1831, Vegesack, near Bremen [Germany] died June 2, 1896, Rüngsdorf [near Bonn]       German explorer renowned for his dramatic journeys across the deserts of North Africa. More an adventurer than a scientific… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”