Hesse
A German habitational surname for someone from Hesse, the historic region in central Germany.
The #5,697 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 50,747 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hesse is a habitational surname meaning “someone from Hesse,” the historic German region. The name ultimately goes back to the ancient tribe of the Chatti, whose name developed into the medieval form behind modern Hesse. Older scholarship also connects the tribal name with a meaning like “the hooded or hatted people,” though that explanation is traditional rather than certain.
History
English surname dictionaries treated Hesse as the name of a person from the German state or region of Hesse, and related forms such as Hess and Hessell appear in the same family of names. The surname is found in records of German and Anglo-German families, and in Britain it could also be reinforced by the presence of immigrants from Hesse. In the United States, it is present but not especially common.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The ancient tribal name behind Hesse is often linked in older sources with the Chatti, a Germanic people of the Roman era.
From the historical record
“HESS 1 (Ger.) One from Hesse [f. the medi- HESSE I seval tribal name Hehii, the Roman Chatti (for Hatti), with the Upper Ger- manic mutation of f to s through tlie intermed. pron. ts; doubtless named from the head-covering (hat) affected — 0.(L.)Teut. halt, surviving in Fris. hat, O.K. hat, O.N. hdtt-r (earlier…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)