Surname Löcken - Meaning and Origin
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Löcken: What does the surname Löcken mean?
The last name Löcken is of Germanic origin, deriving from the Middle High German word "locke" meaning "lock of hair". It is thought to have originally been used as a nickname for a person with curly hair.
Although there is no definitive origin for the name, researchers speculate that it may have been used in areas of Central Europe as early as the 13th or 14th centuries. Records indicate that there were families in Austria and Bavaria by the late 1600s.
Throughout the centuries, spelling variations of the name have included Lochen, Locken, Löhn, Löchner, and Lochner. As people with this name moved to different parts of the world, the spelling of the name changed to reflect the regional culture. For example, the surname is Lochner in Canadian and American records.
Today, the Löcken name can be found in English-speaking countries around the world, where the spelling usually takes the form of Locker or Lockwood. In Germany, the surname is found predominantly in the Bavarian region, with a smaller number of instances reported in Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, and Hesse.
Overall, the last name Löcken is believed to have originated hundreds of years ago from a German nickname, and has since evolved and been adopted in many different countries. Its continuing popularity is proof of its endurance and adaptation over the years.
Order DNA origin analysisLöcken: Where does the name Löcken come from?
The last name Löcken is commonly found in Germany today, particularly in the northernmost states of Niedersachsen and Schleswig-Holstein. It is also found in the neighboring country of Denmark, which shares a border with Germany. It is believed to be an occupational name, derived from the word for “lock” or “bolt.” The name first appeared in records in the early 1500s, when members of the Löcken family lived in Jüterbog, a small town in the central German state of Brandenburg.
The Löcken family has a long history in the region of Northern Germany and Denmark. By the 1700s, some family members had expanded as far west as Amsterdam and as far east as Norway. Today, Löcken is still a relatively common surname in the German region as well as Denmark. It can also be found in Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Wherever the Löcken surname appears, it generally refers to people with strong ties to the Germanic region of Northern Europe and its long history and culture.
Variations of the surname Löcken
A variant spelling, or transliteration, of the surname Löcken is Locken. This variant spelling arose due to the complexities associated with German pronunciation and spelling conventions, and is an example of a phonetic spelling based on the spoken German form of the surname. Other variants include Lochen, Lockenmeier, and Lochern.
The surname Löcken can be found in records from the time of the Germans' colonisation of East Prussia in the 14th century. It was adopted by several generations of locals, and became particularly popular in areas now known as Lithuania and Poland.
The popularity of the surname extends beyond Europe, with several associated variations having arisen in countries across Europe, the British Isles, Scandinavia, the US, and elsewhere. In many cases, because of differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions, the original German form has been changed or the surname has been entirely modified.
In Germany, the surname Löcken can be found in records as far back as the late 1500s. One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname was found in the records of the city of Goslar, where a man named Konrad Lochen registered as a citizen in 1599.
In Britain, the original German variant of the surname is sometimes found, or adapted spellings such as Loken or Locken. This could be from French Huguenot emigrants who settled in the UK in the 17th and 18th centuries after fleeing religious persecution of Protestants in France.
In Scandinavia, the surname can be found as Locken or Lokken, with the corresponding Danish variation being Lokket. In the United States, the surname is often found as Loken or Locken, indicating that the original German-speaking settlers who arrived there retained the German spelling conventions.
Famous people with the name Löcken
- Hermann Löcken (1850–1909), German botanist
- Jörg Löcken (1921–2007), German botanist and tropical ecologist
- Robert Löcken (1917–2007), German classical singer
- Ralf Löcken (1930–2003), German sculptor
- Johannes Löcken (1893–1977), German theologian
- Jost Löcken (1850–1918), German author
- Detlef Löcken (born 1964), German abstract painter
- Adriaan Löcken (born 1908), Dutch resistance fighter during World War II
- Hendrik Willem Jens Löcken (born 1929), Dutch theologian
- Albert Peter Löcken (born 1965), Dutch mountaineer, writer and photojournalist