Derivation of Steinwachs´ Name
Ancestor research 1939 of Max Steinwachs
Coat of arms of the line Steinwachs comming from Lamspringe,
possibly from Adolf Steinwachs, born 15. May 1868 in Konstanz,
provided by William L. Steinwachs of Issaquah,
Washington, USA,
not found in a coat of arms role(book), until now.
'Origin Of The Name "Steinwachs":
While searching for the original meaning of the surname Steinwachs, I
looked through various "name encyclopedias" without success. So,
I have had to depend on my own assumptions. It appeared most probable to
me that it originated with a job title, such as stone-cutter for example.
(In Goettingen in 1676, a Valentin Steinwachs was listed as a stone-cutter.)
The suffix "wachs", or in the former way of writing "wax",
could lead to the conclusion that "Steinwachs" refers to a
stone-working occupation of some sort. In the spring of 1996, I found
the following references to the name, "Steinwachs", in the
university library in Goettingen in a book entitled, "German Kinship
Names". The name is derived from a location, meaning "stony
field". The name occurs in Leipzig (1926), Cologne (1927), Berlin
(1928), Muenster in Westf. (1927), and Hamburg (1928). There is no
information as to where, or in which dialect area, the name Steinwachs
originated.
At the end of 2001, I found another reference to a "Bernd
Steinwachs". His grandfather's line originated in Oberufhausen,
dating back nineteen hundred years to Hemer/Märkischer Kreis. According to the
grandfather's information, the "Steinwachs" name came about in
connection with the occupation, "stones grow".