Etymologies of names ending with -inger in Upper Austria

In recent years, family name geography as part of the linguistic field of onomastics has experienced a considerable boom, firstly in academic form (such as the DFA, the German Family Name Atlas, Mainz/Freiburg), and secondly in the form of tools by various providers (e.g. GEOGEN) with which the layman can pursue pseudo-academic work in this field of knowledge. Until very recently, there has only been peripheral scientific family name research in Austria. In 2011, Karl Hohensinner published the first volume of the Surname atlas of Upper Austria entitled "Namen und Berufe" (Names and Occupations), which achieved extensive media coverage. It is based on handwritten statistic material from the time around 1830, which systematically covers the area of Upper Austria at a pre-industrial point in time. The Upper Austrian surnames ending with -inger shall be the next object of interest, as they constitute the most common type of name formation. Thanks to basic research in recent years, the extensive etymologisation of this type, which is hard to achieve without knowledge about secondary derivations, can be expected. This study will deliver results that will be of great value for similar work in other Austrian provinces as well as in Bavaria. The distribution of each surname will be visualized in a map of Upper Austria. Additionally, suspected origination points (placenames) will be added to each map (see enclosed sample maps and texts). After that, historical evidence from various sources will be presented for both SN and PN. The documentary proof of a direct connection between place names and surnames is one of the objectives of this study. The applicant can look back on many years of experience in place name research and archival work. Based on their origin, the names will be assigned to one of the following types: Primary type: Derivations with -er- from placenames ending with -ing (originally -ingen) Secondary types: Derivations with -er- from placenames ending with -ing (originally -ern) Derivations with -inger from placenames ending with -ach/-ahi Derivations with -inger from placenames ending with (Slavic) -ika Derivations with -inger from appelative nouns Different smaller groups and derivations due to phonetic similarity (e.g. -in) Each of the groupsypes will be described in detail, both regarding their geographic distribution and their development over time. Furthermore, the related appellatives and OHG personal names will be presented. Finally, other surnames that are known or supposed to be related to each name ending with inger- will be presented (see enclosed sample maps and texts).

Within the field of onomastics a lot of progress has been made for several years in the field of surnames. Surnames are names which are there presently but at the same time have developed, been passed on and migrated in (and through) history. Thus, a great amount of current and historical data has to be registered, structured and interpreted, both to edit and interpret single surnames or groups of surnames and to sort out commons origins and aspects on meaning, formation patterns as well as the period of development. The possibilities for this kind of analysis are presently being enhanced in a speedy manner so that conclusions can be drawn which have not been known so far and can be described as extensive. These conclusions also have an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary character. As for methodical approaches, focuses of research within this project are how databases are being processed and evaluated, how various possibilities of mapping data can be developed and assessed and how the distribution of different forms can be visually rendered. As for the contents, one focus lies on the semantics of names and parts of names. Another focus is to describe in detail and by means of archival texts how surnames (deriving from the group of names of origin) become detached from their places of origin. The description of formation patterns is a special point of interest. The questions posed are specific: with regard to surnames which are based on late medieval name material (personal names, saints names, farm names, place names, joke names) and still common today, how were they formed and how and when did they become fixed? The results of this project, which explores the different possible origins of the suffix -inger in surnames, show by means of this material that surnames can frequently manifest suffixes in a "straight" etymological line and an autonomous linguistic outcome alongside. These elements of name formation which are used for surname moulding are much more frequent and regionally diverse than previously expected. The surnames ending in -inger consist of the primary group of names of origin which can be assigned to place names ending in -ing. They are derived from these place names by use of the marker -er. This suffix expresses a sense of belonging or origin. Most of the names ending in -inger belong to this group. Those names which are statistically most frequent and geographically most widespread, however, do not belong to this group. They are formations of a secondary marker -inger which is itself meaningless and spaciously attached to place names and farm names from the 16th century onwards in order to express belonging or origin. This secondary group of names ending in -inger contains sub- groups. Likewise, younger developments are recorded such as the extension of -inger to -linger. As for the question if -inger may have arisen from the area of common nouns and may have entered the field of names, the results show that the development actually proceeded from the field of names into the area of common nouns. Furthermore, the question was raised whether the existence of primary (etymological) formation and secondary (unetymological) formation could be verified and shown to be frequent beyond the suffix -inger. This could be proved by means of examples in the area of investigation and even in regions beyond this area.