Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
Feinberg Coat of Arms / Feinberg Family CrestThe German surname of FEINBERG was derived from the Old French word 'fin' a nickname for a delicate and tender person or a clever and elegant man. It was originally a female name FINA. The name was originally rendered in the Latin form FINIS and has numerous variant spellings which include FEININGER, FEIN, FEINER, FEINMANN, FEINLE, FEINBLATT (fine leaf) and FAJNGOLD (fine child) to name but a few. Surnames are divided into four categories, from occupations, nicknames, baptismal and locational. All the main types of these are found in German-speaking areas, and names derived from occupations and from nicknames are particularly common. A number of these are Jewish. Patronymic surnames are derived from vernacular Germanic given names, often honouring Christian saints. Regional and ethnic names are also common. The German preposition 'von (from) or 'of', used with habitation names, is taken as a mark of aristocracy, and usually denoted proprietorship of the village or estate from where they came. Some members of the nobility affected the form VON UND ZU with their titles. In eastern Germany there was a heavy influence both from and on neighbouring Slavonic languages. Many Prussian surnames are of Slavonic origin. A notable member of the name was Lyonel Charles Adrian FEININGER (1871-1956) American artist and cartoonist, born in New York of German immigrant parents. He studied music in New York and then in Germany, where he turned to art and studied in Berlin and Hamburg, then worked as a newspaper strip cartoonist. When the Nazi's came to power he returned to the United States where he founded the Chicago Bauhaus. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe. The lion depicted in the arms is the noblest of all wild beasts which is made to be the emblem of strength and valour, and is on that account the most frequently borne in Coat-Armour. |
