Wand

This interesting surname has two possible origins. Firstly, it may be a contracted form of "Wander", which is an occupational name for a maker or seller of cloth, from an agent derivative of an aphetic form of the Old German "gewand", cloth, garment; or it may be a metonymic occupational name for a builder of walls, from the Old German "wand", a wall. Secondly, the name may be of Old Scandinavian origin, from the Old Norse "vondr", Middle English "wand", a wand, hence the surname was an occupational name or a nickname for an officer of the royal household or of a court of justice, who bore a wand (a rod or staff, sometimes of ebony or silver, which was carried erect as a sign of office). Early examples of the surname include the christening of Hinricht, son of Wilhelm and Lucia Wandt on July 28th 1609 at Sankt Michaelisdonn, Schleswig-Holstein (Germany); the christening of Marta Wand on August 31st 1622, at Kretzchau, Sachsen; and the christening of John, son of John and Tabitha Wand, on May 25th 1656, at St. James', Clerkenwell, in London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Bernhardt Wand, which was dated February 10th 1577, marriage to Agnessa Schilling, at Esslingen, Neckarkreis, Wuertt, Germany, during the reign of Emperor Rudolf 11, "Holy Roman Emperor", 1576 - 1612. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.