Baden - Meno

This famous surname is (usually) associated with the former state and city of Baden in Germany, and with the royal family of Baden. It is recorded in several countries including Denmark, Norway and Sweden, where most, if not all nameholders have their origins in Germany. It is also recorded in England, where there are various explanations as to the origin. The confusion of the 'English connection' is compounded by early recordings such as that in London on September 17th 1565, of Eduard, the Margrave of Baden, who married Cecilia, Princess of Sweden. This was a public 'union' of the protestant movement, an early example of liked minded countries standing together, although it is unlikely that this marriage had any effect on British nameholders. The most likely explanation of the origin of the British name is that the development may be from the pre 7th century Anglo-Saxon and hence Germanic word 'bud' meaning a messenger, with the latter suffix of either 'in or en' meaning 'son of'. On the continent and Scandanavia the early surname recordings all represent people who came from Baden, or the royal family of Baden. The first of these may be that of Rudolf 1st, who held the title Margrave of Baden, in 1259, and that of Rutschman von Baden, in the charters of Obereggenen, Mulheim, in the year 1398. As to the meaning of the city/state name, this is probably a short form of the ancient 'bearu - denu' or similar, meaning 'the wooded valley' although 'bar - denue', the valley of the boars, is another interesting possibility, wild boar being common in Germany in those early times. The royal family of Baden have many branches, and examples of their recordings taken from the authentic registers of the state include Wilhelm, Margrave of Baden in 1473, and Amalie, given as being Princess of Baden, recorded there in 1513.