[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] GARY WARNER-Need some help with surnames starting with O

[Gary Warner]

Otto and Paul and Anegret and Dave,

Thanks for the responses from each of you.

It seems that the biggest problem is that I do 
not speak German.   I had previously learned to 
look for words that have "oe" or "ö" and know 
that sometimes the same word will have just an 
"o" or just an "e" in its place.    What I failed 
to recognize, however, is that a word could even 
begin with a vowel with an umlaut over it.    Now 
that I understand that is possible the names I cited make sense to me.

Thanks to all of you.

One last thing, since I have this cast of experts 
at hand.   Please, it you would, tell me and the 
rest of the list, the proper way to say words 
that include an ä,ö,ü, and ß.    I am interested 
to know if they sound the same in all German 
words (assuming the same dialect).   I am also 
interested in how the sounds differ in the two 
most common German dialects, which not knowing 
any better I assume are high and low 
German.    Since you all know how to make those 
sounds, the biggest challenge might be in using a 
word to describe each sound that I can already say in English.

Just to keep the responses from repeating 
themselves, I assume that Otto will answer first 
and that the rest of you will only respond if 
there is anything additional to add.

Gary Warner


At 09:44 PM 05/06/06, Otto wrote:
>Evening gary,
>No.  It is not the same.
>O'Sullivan is the surname Sullivan with a Gaelic 'O' prefix.
>O'Sullivan = descendant of Sullivan
>
>
>Öhl = Oil    Oehl and Oel = Oil  (present day Öl and Öler)
>Sounds like 'Ehler'   (the 'h' (O'h'ler) may be older form of spelling.
>(the root word Öhl would need more research... just in case)
>
>The suffix 'er' added to Öhl-er  states what one does.  = Oil-er
>(manufactures it?)
>
>'e' after O indicates an umlaut O.
>
>Oel-ike ?  Sounds like 'Ehlike' (almost but not quite)
>(umlaut O sounds like the beginning of 'ai-r'-German E sounds like
>English long 'A'.
>
>Oehl-ke   Sounds like "Ehlke   ('ke' is a diminutive suffix-little,
>son of)
>
>Oeher and Eher appears to be a definite misspelling.
>(unless the root word is 'Ehe', as in Ehefrau.(wife)
>
>
>On May 6, 2006, at 11:32 PM, Gary Warner wrote:
>
> > To all of you who have knowledge of surnames,
> >
> > I am trying to figure out the relationship between surnames that
> > begin with an O, and what appears to be their counterpart names
> > without the leading O.
> >
> > I am aware that a leading O in the British Empire means "of the
> > family of" (for instance, O'Sullivan versus Sullivan).   In German
> > surnames, is the same true?
> >
> > If the above is true, then are the following sample of such names
> > related to each other?
> >
> > Oeher and Eher
> > Oehler and Ehler
> > Oehlike and Ehlike
> > Oehlke and Ehlke
> >
> > Gary Warner
> > SGGEE
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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>
>. . .  Otto
>
>                       " The Zen moment..." wk. of March 5, 2006
>                       ________________________________
>                          "Remove what isn't... What is remains."
>
>
>
>
>
>
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