Where does the last name "Hilderbrand" originate from? (German, family tree)

[lolperson121]

just curious

[4alark]

I'm curious too. I have "Hildebrand" in my family tree.

[lolperson121]

oh i mean "Hildebrand" sorry typo lol

[2cold]

Hildebrand would be a variant of the German surname Hildebrandt.

[InsaneTraveler]

I have a friend whos last name is Hilbrands (Its very similar to what name you ask about, and probably has the same origins). She told me her ancestors came from Holland.

I don't know how accurate this is or if she was even being honest. I meet too many people who have VERY English names who swear their ancestors came from Germany, Poland, etc for me to trust people when they list their ancestry.

[bjh]

"battle sword" Wow!

Hildebrand Family History Facts 1920 - Ancestry.com

[Starlady01]

Hildebrand - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Mathguy]

Good thread. I married a Hildebrandt and was told it meant something like "mercenary".

[CAVA1990]

There's a building at my alma mater named after one:

Joel Hildebrand - Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Library - University of California, Berkeley

[linicx]

My mother's surname is as English as can get. However when I traced it back to the 1720s, I found the ancestral grandmother was Dutch. I followed her line back to the 1500s where I discovered this family lived in a feudal state in Western Europe that was ruled by a royal cleric and owned by the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations. I concluded after 450 years it is possible to have Dutch roots and an English name.

Pennsylvania is a bit of a curiosity. There were Dutch families who lived in Pennsylvania, joined the Western Migration and settled in the Midwest in the very early 1800s - but they are not Pennsylvania Dutch. This group settled somewhat later and were of German parentage.