Surname Heinings - Meaning and Origin
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Heinings: What does the surname Heinings mean?
The last name Heinings is of Germanic origin. It is derived from the personal name “Hein”, which is a form of “Heinrich”, meaning “ruler of the house” or “home ruler.” The name likely evolved over time from a nickname or shortened form of “Heinrich” to simply “Hein” and eventually “Heinings” or “Heining”.
The name is most common in Germany and Austria and can be found in records dating back as early as the 1600s. The earliest known recorded mention of the name appears in the year 1633 in a marriage document of one Hans Heining to Elisabeth Seltz in Hettstadt, Bavaria.
More recently, the name has also spread to other countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. In the U.S., Heining is the 6,735th most common name.
In general, the name Heining means “home ruler” and is a reminder of the long history of the Heining family in Germany and elsewhere, from the 1600s through today.
Order DNA origin analysisHeinings: Where does the name Heinings come from?
The last name Heinings is most commonly found in northern Germany. The states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, and Lower Saxony are the areas with the highest concentrations of people with this surname. This is likely due to emigration of people with the name to other parts of the world, such as the United States, in the 19th and 20th centuries. The surname can also be found in larger cities across Germany, in countries across Europe and in other continents around the world.
Heinings is derived from the old Germanic word "hinung", which means courage or daring. It is believed to date back to the Middle Ages and was probably a name given to someone with a brave or daring demeanor. The name was most likely popularized during the Viking raids of northern Europe and the subsequent medieval emigration of Scandinavians and other northern Germanic peoples.
In the United States, the name Heinings is quite rare. It is estimated that no more than 1,000 people have this surname in the country. As the name most likely came to the US via immigration from Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries, the highest concentrations can be found in states with strong German-American heritage, such as Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania.
Variations of the surname Heinings
Heinings is a German surname with numerous spelling variations and alternate surnames of the same origin. This name is derived from the Middle High German name "Hainunge", which was a reference to an enclosed area of land, usually protected by a wall or fence.
Some of the common variations of Heinings are Heininger, Heiningen, Hainingen, Haininger, Haininger, Hainengen, Heining, Heynen, Heyingen, Heyniger, Heynig, and Hayninger. Surnames of similar or related origins include Havening, Hevening, and Heaving.
Heinings is especially popular in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the Netherlands, though people with this surname can be found in many areas of the world. As of 2020, Heinings is the 1,724th most common last name in the United States.
Other languages may have different variations of Heinings. For example, in Dutch, Heinings can be spelled Heijnens, Heijningen, Heiningen, Heyningen, Heynen, or Heynens. In Scandinavian languages, it may be spelled Heien, Heijen, Honing, or Hening. In Polish, it can be spelled Hagen, Hajen, Hoenig, Hejne, Heine, or Hejniak. In Spanish, it can be spelled Heine, Heynen, or Heyns. With so many variations of the same surname, it can be difficult to confirm exactly where a Heinings ancestor may have originated.
Famous people with the name Heinings
- Steve Heinings: former runway model who made his stage debut in the musical Hair in London in the late 1960s.
- Nathan Heininger: Major League Baseball pitcher and Seattle Mariners icon.
- John Heininger: inventor, writer, and former physicist from Princeton University.
- Vince Heinings: American automobile design engineer.
- Kelsey Heining: actress, director, and stand-up comic.
- Gordon Heinings: designer and founder of the Detroit-based H&H Auto Company.
- Lars Heinings: Swiss-American politician who served in the U.S. Congress from 2004-2010.
- Cora Heining: German-born American TV and film actress.
- Mary Heining: pioneering female artist and one of the first skilled female book illustrators in America.
- P.J. Heining: renowned journalist, conservationist, and voice for nature.