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Old September 23rd, 2013 #2
Alex Linder
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What I'm going to quote comes from my uncle's book, The Linder Sourcebook: Origins, Distribution and Immigrants, by Harold Linder (2004).

I had dinner with my uncle last night, and he told me that 10% of those with the name 'Linder' are jews. For the morons, I'll do the math: NINETY PERCENT OF PEOPLE NAMED LINDER ARE NOT JEWS.

Oh wait. That ten percent is actually smaller because it includes English with the name and blacks named Linder.

So the percentage of Linders who are jews is < 10%.

..."I speculate that ultimate Linder origins for the world are:

Switzerland 50%
Germany 25%
Sweden 15%
Jewish, England, Black 10%"

(p. 4)

Quote:
The surname Linder is somewhat unusual because it appears to have originated independently in three different language areas: Switzerland-Germany, Sweden and England. The common denominator, of course, is the widespread occurrence of the linden tree.

Before the common use of surnames, people were identified by first names, and if further distinction was necessary, their name might be qualified by location, occupation or some personal characteristic. Thus a person who lived near a linden tree might be called John "de la Linda" (by the linden). Still later, precursor names are found, such as John "dictus Linder" (called Linder). These names were probably not hereditary, but in time the simple Linder surname became more common. The Linder surname in southern Germany and Switzerland appears in the 1300's and seems to be generally hereditary by 1350 or 1400.
Quote:
D. Where and When Did Linders Originate?

There now appear to be 10 independent origins of the Linder surname that produced Linder lines. This is only a first estimate because some of the apparent independent origins may eventually prove to be related. On the other hand, some of the apparent independent origins may prove to have had multiple origins.

Independent Origins of the Surname Linder

Switzerland.........................4
Saanen, Zurich, Bern, Basel
Germany.............................2
Stuttgart, Kaufbeuren
England..............................1
Sweden..............................1
Jewish................................1
Black..................................1

The Swedish, Jewish and Black lines are relatively recent, probably mostly after 1700, and are discussed below under major Linder lines. The following discussion refers only to English, German and Swiss lines, which were well established in the 1400's.

I assembled a chronological list of over 300 references to the earliest Linders, from 1267 to 1600, from various publications of tax, property and public records from England, Germany and Switzerland. The earliest names, up to 1350, are precursor names such as "genant Linder" (known as Linder). Most people after 1350 have a first name and the surname Linder, which was probably heridary.

It should be noted that distances in Europe are not great. Almost all of the Linders treated here lived within a maximum area of about 250-km by 250-km (150 miles by 150 miles), from Stuttgart, Germany in the north to Saanen, Switzerland in the south and from Basel, Switzerland in the west to Reutte, Austria in the east. This area is slightly smaller than West Virginia. Most people in this period, 1200 to 1600, probably never traveled far from their homes. (pp. 5-6)

Last edited by Alex Linder; September 23rd, 2013 at 11:54 AM.