Rosenthal

This is a very old German surname, indeed one of the very first on record. It is what is known as "ornamental" in that whilst it translates literally as one who resided by an area (feld) of roses (rose), this may not have been so in fact. Early German surnames of the 13th century were often based upon mythical situations, in other words, if one was to have a surname, why not a nice one! There are a wide range of surnames which follow this pattern such as Rosegren (Rose branch), Rosengart (Rose garden) being just two examples of the genre. When the name is recorded in its simplest base form as "Rose", this can imply either a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion, or it can be topographical for one who did actually grow roses or lived in a rose growing area. What is certain is that the name in its localised form is found in every European country, and the recordings range from Roz or Roze in France to Rosetti in Italy, and Ruzek in Czechoslovakia, there are hundreds of forms. Examples of the surname as or from Rosenfeld, include Michael Rosenfelder, of Schapbach, Offenburg, on July 25th 1651, Juergen Rosenfeld, who married Catharina Strang at Konigsberg, on October 14th 1632, and Liborius Rosenfelt who married Eva Kross at Ovenhausen, Westfalen, on March 17th 1689. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Conrad Rosenfeld, which was dated 1299, recorded in the rolls of Freiburg as being a Dominican Friar, during the reign of Emperor Albert 1 of Hapsburg, 1298 - 1308. 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.