Stauffer (also commonly spelled "Stouffer" and "Stover" in North America) is a German surname, the origin of which derives from the Proto-German word staupa, meaning "steep." [1] Staupa and its Middle High German descendant, stouf, evolved to mean, among other things, a steep hill or mountain. Many of these hills and mountains serve as the basis for the names of such places as Donaustauf, Hohenstaufen, Staufenberg, Regenstauf, Staufen im Breisgau, and the Staufens of Switzerland and Austria. [2] Stauffer surnames derive from these hills. The Swiss Mennonite Stauffers common in the U.S. and Canada derive their name from a hill called Stouffe or Stauffenalp just southwest of the town of Röthenbach im Emmental in Switzerland. [3] [4]
Notable people with the surname include:
The Hohenstaufen dynasty, also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty's most prominent rulers – Frederick I (1155), Henry VI (1191) and Frederick II (1220) – ascended the imperial throne and also reigned over Italy and Burgundy. The non-contemporary name of 'Hohenstaufen' is derived from the family's Hohenstaufen Castle on the Hohenstaufen mountain at the northern fringes of the Swabian Jura, near the town of Göppingen. Under Hohenstaufen rule, the Holy Roman Empire reached its greatest territorial extent from 1155 to 1268.
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radical Reformation, Simons articulated and formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders, with the early teachings of the Mennonites founded on the belief in both the mission and ministry of Jesus, which the original Anabaptist followers held with great conviction, despite persecution by various Roman Catholic and Mainline Protestant states. Formal Mennonite beliefs were codified in the Dordrecht Confession of Faith in 1632, which affirmed "the baptism of believers only, the washing of the feet as a symbol of servanthood, church discipline, the shunning of the excommunicated, the non-swearing of oaths, marriage within the same church", strict pacifistic physical nonresistance, anti-Catholicism and in general, more emphasis on "true Christianity" involving "being Christian and obeying Christ" however they interpret it from the Holy Bible.
The Pennsylvania Dutch, also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group native to Pennsylvania and other American states. They descend from Germans who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, primarily from the Palatinate, and other German-speaking areas, including Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Saxony, and Rhineland in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France's Alsace-Lorraine region.
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of the German stem duchies, representing the territory of Alemannia, whose inhabitants interchangeably were called Alemanni or Suebi.
Yoder is a surname of Swiss German origin of which the original spelling is Joder. It originated from the Canton of Bern in Switzerland. The name dates back to at least 1260, and is a shortened version of the name Theodore.
Friedländer is a toponymic surname derived from any of German places named Friedland.
Kaufmann is a surname with many variants such as Kauffmann, Kaufman, and Kauffman. In German, the name means merchant. It is the cognate of the English Chapman. Kaufmann may refer to:
Michael Sattler was a monk who left the Roman Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation to become one of the early leaders of the Anabaptist movement. He was particularly influential for his role in developing the Schleitheim Confession.
Haldeman is a surname of Swiss German origin, stemming from the village Halden, now part of the municipality of Bischofszell, in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland. Other forms of the name are Haldemann, Holdeman, Holdiman, Holderman and others. The form Haldemann is still overwhelmingly found in Switzerland.
Stouffer is an Americanized spelling of the German surname Stauffer, occupational name for a maker or seller of beakers or mugs.
Swiss Americans are Americans of Swiss descent.
Ralph Stover, son of the immigrant Henry Stauffer, was an American Justice of the Peace and politician in Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1793–99.
Henry Stauffer was born in Ibersheim, Germany on 1724 and died November 27, 1777. He immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 9, 1749, and settled in Bedminster on 23 acres (93,000 m2), purchased of William Allen, June 12, 1762. The purchase of this land was recorded in the history of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Please see below this recording.
Hunziker is a surname from Switzerland. The name most likely originates from the name of a small village in Canton Lucerne. Within Switzerland, the family expanded with a large presence in the Kulm, Zofingen, and Aarau districts of Canton Aargau and smaller concentrations in Cantons Berne, Lucerne, and Zürich. Significant emigration to the United States and Canada has occurred over several centuries. In the U.S., the name has commonly been anglicized to Hunsaker, Hunsicker, Hunsinger, Huntsinger, Hunsucker and many other variants.
Troyer is a last name of German origin which is widespread among the Amish, Brethren and the Mennonites. It is the Pennsylvania German form of the German last name "Dreier", "Dreyer", "Treyer" or "Dreher". A Dreher in German is a traditional operator of a rotating cutting machine.
Abraham Stouffer is the founder of the town of Stouffville, Ontario.
McIlhenny or McElhenny is an Irish surname commonly found in Donegal and Derry. They are a Sept of the Cenel Eogain race, son of Niall high king of Ireland. In Gaelic the name translates "servant of Saint Canice". Notable people with the surname include:
Wenger is a surname of German origin with a European concentration of the name in Switzerland. It was recorded as early as 1728 in America when an Eva Grabiel was married to a Christian Wenger in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Many of its early American bearers were Mennonites. Other - rather seldom - forms of the same name are Wanger and Winger.
Trump is a surname of English and German origin:
The Mennonites in Maryland maintain a small population dating back over a century. The majority of Maryland's Mennonites live in Southern Maryland or on the Eastern Shore, while smaller Mennonite communities exist in Grantsville, Baltimore, Howard County, and elsewhere scattered throughout the state.