Witz

Recorded in several spelling forms including Wiz, Witz, Witze, and Wittzin this ancient German surname is either residential or it may be a nickname perhaps for a scholar. If residential it describes somebody who lives in a "witu" or forest, and as forest covered much of Germany in the medieval times, it is not perhaps surprising that many people share the surname. Alternatively the pre 7th century word "wit" meant intelligent, and it could be a nickname surname for a "witty" person. Whatever the original meaning, the surname is one of the earliest recorded, dating from the 12th century. Whether Volkman Witzo, in the charters of the city of Leipsig, in the year 1188, was the first of the hereditary nameholders is open to some argument. What we do know is that throughout the Middle Ages the name was well recorded in Germany, and early examples include Henrich Wycse, of Froburg, in 1368, and Adelheit Wittzin, in the diminutive form, from Ulm, in 1388. Later examples are those of Agatha Witz, who married Martin Molke, at Schwarzwaldkreis, Wuertt, on April 14th 1636, and Anton Wiz, a witness at Hangerloch, Hohenzollern, on January 14th 1716.