Surname Wörlein - Meaning and Origin
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Wörlein: What does the surname Wörlein mean?
The last name Wörlein is a German surname. It is derived from the Middle High German word Würrich and it literally translates to “cobbler” or “shoemaker.” This suggests that the ancestor of a person with this last name was either a cobbler or shoemaker by trade.
In Germany, surnames were often derived from a person’s job or the location of their place of birth. As such, the surname Wörlein may have originated in Germany, where people of that surname likely began using it before the 15th century.
In modern Germany, the Wörlein surname is commonly found in the former East Germany regions of Saxony, Thuringia, and Saxony-Anhalt. These regions were part of East Germany, which existed between 1949 and 1990. It’s likely that Wörlein is a much older surname and the use of it shifted to East Germany during the 20th century, as Germans migrated within the region.
In the United States, Wörlein is not a particularly common surname. However, the 2020 US Census does state that there are about 1,331 people with this last name in the country. The name is particularly common in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. It’s likely that people with the surname Wörlein have their origins in one of the former East Germany regions and then relocated to the US, as immigration increased with the easing of travel restrictions.
Order DNA origin analysisWörlein: Where does the name Wörlein come from?
The last name Wörlein is most common in Germany today, especially in the states of Bavaria and Hesse. The name is often known as a spelling variant of Worley, and both are derived from the German word Würlach, which means “little turn.” As a toponymic surname, Wörlein usually refers to someone who is from a place called Würlach.
Würlach is a municipality located in Bavaria, Germany, and the surrounding area is still home to many people with this surname. It is also known that some parts of this area were inhabited by people with this surname in the Middle Ages. The city of Frankfurt am Main also has a large population of people with the Wörlein name.
Outside of Germany, the name Wörlein is far less common. There are some isolated instances of the name in Austria and the United States, but this is not the norm. One of the most famous bearers of the name is George Wörlein, the architect behind renowned buildings such as the Main Tower in Frankfurt, Germany and the Senate House at Washington State University.
Variations of the surname Wörlein
The surname Wörlein is a variant of Worley, Worthley, Worrall and Worrell, and Worrill. It is of German and English origin. The German variant originated from the German name "Werl" or "Werle" meaning a small hill or an area of land near water, or a pasture.
Originally a nickname for someone who lived near a hill, the name Wörlein was passed down from generation to generation in both German and English-speaking countries. It is most common in North America, specifically in the US and Canada.
In English, many of its variants are phonetic spellings, while the German variants are closer to the spelling of the original name Wörlein. Variants such as Worthley, Worrull, Worrill and Worrell started appearing in records in the mid-19th century in the US.
Werlein is the most common spelling, but there are several variants with slight differences, including Wörlein, Woerlein, Worlein and Warlein. The surnames Wörlein and Woerlein are the most common in both Germany and the US, while Warlein is typically only seen in Germany.
In Germany, the name variants actually mean different things. The spelling Wörlein is derived from the German word "Wurzel", and means "little root", while Woerlein refers to a "small square field".
Over time, the spelling of the surname has changed as generations continued to adapt the pronunciation of the name. While the spelling might not have stuck around, the meaning of "hill" or "meadow" remains the same, reinforcing the connection between people with the surname Wörlein with this common history.
Famous people with the name Wörlein
- Max Wörlein: German composer and pianist
- Anton Wörlein: German painter and graphic artist
- Alexander Wörlein: German artist and illustrator
- Wilhelm Wörlein: German actor
- Christoph Wörlein: German actor
- Cornelia Wörlein: German graphic artist
- Jakob Wörlein: German sculptor
- August Wörlein: German sculptor
- Sebastian Wörlein: German sculptor
- Ursula Wörlein: Austrian painter and sculptor
- Maximilian Wörlein: German composer and conductor
- Bernd Wörlein: German film director and cinematographer
- Georg Wörlein: German composer and organist
- Johann Wörlein: Austrian composer and conductor