MySource:BobC/Doering Coat of Arms

Doering Coat of Arms / Doering Family Crest

This German surname of DOERING was of the locational group of surnames meaning 'one who came from THURINGIA' in Germany. The region is named from its former occupation by the Germanic tribe of the THURINGII, displayed in the 6th century AD. This tribal name has been tentatively connected with the element TUR (to dare) and OORA. The surname is especially common in Silesia, Saxony and Bohemia, as a result of the German expansion eastwards during the early Middle Ages. The name has numerous variant spellings which include DURING, DUHRING, DURICH, DORICH, DIERICH and DOHRING. Surnames derived from placenames are divided into two broad categories; topographic names and habitation names. Topographic names are derived from general descriptive references to someone who lived near a physical feature such as an oak tree, a hill, a stream or a church. Habitation names are derived from pre-existing names denoting towns, villages and farmsteads. Other classes of local names include those derived from the names of rivers, individual houses with signs on them, regions and whole countries. A notable member of the name was Karl Eugen DUHRING (1833-1921) the German philosopher and political economist, born in Berlin. He became quite blind before he was 30. As a philosopher he was positivist and anti-Hegelian; as an economist he was influenced by Henry Charles Gray. The first hereditary surnames on German soil are found in the second half of the 12th century, slightly later than in England and France. However, it was not until the 16th century that they became stabilized. The practice of adopting hereditary surnames began in the southern areas of Germany, and gradually spread northwards during the Middle Ages. Because of the close relationship between the English and German languages, some Germans are able to transform their names to the English form just by dropping a single letter. Many Germans have re-spelt their names in America. After the start of the first World War, Germans in great numbers Anglicized their names in an effort to remove all doubt as to their patriotism. Afterwards some changed back, and then during World War II the problem became acute once more, and the changing started all over again, although not with as much intensity. Many immigrants from Germany settled in Pennsylvania.