Hellmers Names

Names

All ancestors are listed by the names given to them at their baptism. Many German immigrants Anglicized their names, thus Hinrich Hellmers became Henry Hellmers. When the first generation of children were baptized, the churches they attended were still primarily using the German language, so the children’s names were given in German. John Frederick Hellmers was baptized as Johann Friedrich Hellmers.

Some family German names and their English equivalents:

Male Names
Heinrich Johann Friedrich Ludwig Wilhelm Gustaph Hermann Karl Philipp	Henry John Frederick Louis William Gustav, Gus Herman Carl, Charles Philip

Female Names
Maria Elisabetha Margaretha	Mary Elizabeth Margaret

A note on female names: In German, female names ending in an “a,” can just as easily end with an “e.” Both are pronounced the same. In some records, it is hard to tell which letter a name ends with. They are the same name, simply spelled differently. For example, the German name Maria or Marie are both pronounced with three syllables [mah-ree-ah]. In English, Marie or Mary are of course both pronounced with two syllables.

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