LES NOMS DE FAMILLE DE GLARIS

Family Names From Glarus

There are about 200 original family names from Glarus

Assuming that Glarus counted no more than 3´000 souls at the time of liberation (battle of Näfels in 1388), it shows, that most of the known families (Landleutegeschlechter) couldn´t be very numerous. It came to a strong increase in the population thanks to the industrialization in the 18th century.

Based on the standard book of Jakob Winteler and Ida Tschudi-Schümperlin (Wappenbuch des Landes Glarus, Genf 1937) and own research, about 200 family names are original names from Glarus, that means have its Place of Origin (see below) for more than hundert years in Glarus.

In the so-called Abgaberodel (tax lists) the taxable fief ownerships and the corresponding free fief holders were listed by name. The 12 free Wappengenossen(free Comrades in Arms) and the 34 free Gotteshausleute(free family members of the Abbey of Säckingen) were listed in this Urbar. The list with the names can be viewed and downloaded here:

The Urbar from the Abbey of Säckingen and the Family Names from Glarus

A list of such names with an assignment to the communities from which these families descend can be viewed and downloaded here:

List of Family Names from Glarus

List with typical and traditional First Names from Glarus

Address Book from Canton of Glarus 1932

Understanding of Place of Origin in Switzerland

In Switzerland, the place of origin (German: Heimatort or Bürgerort, literally "home place" or "citizen place") denotes where the Swiss citizen has his municipal citizenship. It is not to be confused with the place of birth or the place of residence, although two or all three of these locations can be identical depending on the person.

Swiss citizenship has three tiers:

Municipal citizenship, granted by the place of residence after fulfilling several preconditions, like sufficient knowledge of the local language, integration into the local society, and a minimum amount of years lived in said municipality.
Cantonal (state) citizenship, for which a Swiss municipal citizenship is required. It requires a certain amount of years lived in said canton.
Country citizenship, for which both of the above is a requirement, also requires a certain amount of years lived in Switzerland, and involves a criminal background check.

The last two kinds of citizenship are a mere formality while the municipal citizenship is the most significant step in becoming a Swiss citizen. However, any Swiss citizen can apply for a second, a third or even more municipal citizenships for prestige reasons or to show his or her connection to the place he currently lives in - and thus have several places of origins.

The Register of Swiss Surnames

To genealogists and historians the Register of Swiss Surnames has become an essential standard reference. Representing the status quo of the year 1962, it offers a comprehensive alphabetical listing of all the families holding citizenship in a Swiss community. Each entry contains information on the place of origin (i.e. community of citizenship), time of naturalisation as well as previous place or country of origin. This site offers free access to some 48'500 entries, as compiled in the third edition of the "Familiennamenbuch der Schweiz" (Schulthess Polygraphischer Verlag, Zurich 1989).

The Register of Swiss Surnames

Family Names from Glarus in alphabetical order (with English use name)

The descriptions of the family names marked in blue and red were taken from two works written by Gottfried Heer and Martin Baumgartner, which were translated into English by Sue Wolf and can be found at Swiss Genealogy on the Internet. A link at the blue and red marked family names leads you directly to the English descriptions of the family names. The brown marked and underlined names lead to the family descriptions on this website. Click on the link to access that family name's PDF.