This most interesting and unusual surname is of Old German origin, and derives from the Germanic title of nobility "Herzog", meaning duke, from the Old High German "herizoho", composed of "heri", army and "ziohan", to lead. The name is unlikely to refer to an actual duke himself, and was probably an occupational name for the servant of a uke, or a nickname for one who puts on the airs and graces of a duke. The surname is found most widespread among Ashkenazic people, while in the modern idiom variants of the surname include Herzog, Herzig, Hercog, and Hartzog (Germany) as well as Hertogs (Holland).
There is a Dutch Ashkenazic male given name "Hartog" which means Duke. Early examples of the surname include the christening of Anna, daughter of Theobalt and Catharina Hertzog on June 8th, 1567 at Pfalz, Bayern, and Agnes Herzog married Hans Hofmann on July 28th, 1611 at Zeitz, St. Michael, Sachsen. James Barry Munnik Hertzog (1866 - 1942) was of Dutch German stock and served as a Boer General (1899 - 1902). He became an ardent champion of Boer nationalism, and founded the United South African Party (1934), and was Prime Minister of South Africa until 1939. A Coat of Arms was granted to a "Herzog" family in Bale (Basle), Switzerland, which depicts a black lion rampant holding a red label of office on a gold shield. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ambrosius Hertzog, which was dated March 8th, 1531, marriage to Margrett Pirlin at Mittelfranken, Nuernberg Stadt, Bayern, during the reign of Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1519 - 1558). Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
The origin, the coat of arms or the different heraldic shields, and the bibliography in which the surname hartzog is mentioned are part of this exciting investigation.
The list of countries with a higher presence of people with the surname hartzog provides us with a perspective on the history of the surname, beyond its origins, focusing on its migrations.
For those like you, who are interested in the history hidden behind the surname hartzog, it is essential to find all kinds of information, both direct and tangential, that helps to construct a solid narrative of how the birth and expansion of hartzog developed.
We keep our website updated through our own research and also thanks to contributions from people like you, after verification; so if you have information about hartzog and send it to us, we will update it on this website.
Sadly, not all the contributions of those who bore the surname hartzog were recorded by the chroniclers of the time. It is our desire to highlight in this section those individuals with the surname hartzog who, for various reasons, have left their mark on the course of history.
The origin, history, coat of arms or different coats of arms, and the heraldry of hartzog are recorded in a wide variety of sources and documents that are essential to know for better compilation.
These sources are essential for initiating the understanding of hartzog, and at the same time, of surnames in general.