We Need Some Help
The following persons have not responded to requests for information.  We have no 
information on them other what you see listed here:

Thomas Hoffeld, MD
Jamie Hoffeld
Ciara Hoffeld
Sensei Bradley Hoffeld
Veronique Hoffeld (France)
Erika Hoffeld, DVM
Cyd Hoffeld
Lisa Jo Lindquist-Hoffeld
Jean Hoffeld
Rachel Hoffeld-Norsworthy
Nadine Hoffeld

A Little Hoffeld History
The questions finally came out.  
What is the actual spelling of our name?  
The actual spelling of our name is 'Hoffeld'.
What does it mean?  It literally means (from) the "House(in the)Field". I have come across "von" Hoffelt in my travels.   What nationality are we?  The blood lines from generation 20 to generation 4 (John and Charlotte) are a mix of French (Cremer), Irish (O'Raian), German (Saelmans), Italian (Salvati), Norwegian (Johannsen), Native American (Swamp), and Jewish (Klingenberg) if one considers that a nationality rather than a religion.


Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) established land grants to large families of Germanic tribes.  
About this time he also gave English nobles conquered lands in northernmost France as well as 
eastern Germany and Switzerland.  Those persons who made peace were granted lands according 
to their houses.  Some notable houses were, Mainz, Ulm, Muenchen, Salz, Branden, Meunster, and 
Eiffel.  The smaller houses were later absorbed into the larger such as Salz and Meunchen.  It 
was not uncommon for a wandering tribe to happen upon the Meunchen lands.  Upon seeing this the 
lord would allow them to settle and give them tribal names for recognition.  For example, a tribe 
may wander out of the forest and settle along its edge.  The lord would name them Wald (forest).  
More specifically they would be recognized as Meunchenwald.  In our family's case, it appears as though the names were combined as Henri Christhoffel von Eiffel, Johannes Christhoffel von Eiffel, etc. 
Please forgive the format structure.  Tribalpages doesn't allow for ease of edit.  I was asked the reason why some of our ancestors traveled to other countries and got married.  Originally it was thought that they participated in some military campaign.  We know that the Hoffelds were a military family and that land was granted to them for service.  But that may not be true of all.  Another reason for the mix in names is that in Medieval times, there were not that many women available.  According to demographic studies by Oxford University, the ratio of men to women from about 900 AD to about 1450 AD was 10:1 or for every ten men, there was one woman.


All Hoffelds are related in the US and were established around 1020 AD in Luxembourg by Royal 
Decree.  Petri Hoffeld's christening in 1319 was attended by Richard von Eiffel 
and his wife Catharine.  Interesting to note that the microfilm was blurry at best as it was 
some sort of 1920's type photo and it appeared as though the recorder had scratched through a few times making the name Eiffel look like Heiffelt.  In addition, I don’t read feather pen very well and I definitely can’t read Medieval Latin, so I enlisted the help of my son who has been trained and can read this obscure language.  I found Richard von Eiffel through dates and town of origin. 
There was in fact a Richard and Catharine von Eiffel who migrated to Prussia around 1299 after 
land was granted as payment for military service.  According to historical reference, land could not be 
given to a conscript or mercenary and only nobility could speak Latin or hold lands.  The name Eiffel was dropped about this time, research suggests that it was shortened.  I mean, for example, Henri 
Johannes Amadeu Christhoffel von Eiffel - what a mouthful.  Hence, the city of Hoffeld in Arweiler.  Petri's burial records have Medieval Latin inscriptions stating he was killed along with his brothers in the Battle of Schwedt in 1368.  The records of Teutonic Service that are housed by the Holy See "...cannot and WILL NOT be released...", so don't bother to ask.  That is, unless you happen to know someone in the Vatican Library Administration or you are a "certified" Academic.  The Vatican was far less than helpful.  


During research, I encountered the spelling as Hatzfeldt, Hofeld, Hoffelde, Hoffeldt, Hoffelt, Hoffel, Hoefeld, Heiffelt, Hoeffelt, and of course what we know today as Hoffeld.  I have been researching this for about 30 years and am always open to corrections.  Don't hesitate to contact me.  Oh, and please sign the guestbook!  I also wish to apologize for not requesting written records, save the Vatican as they do not release ANY copies, let alone digital.  In my haste and excitement of finally finding our real tree and not just a weed, I failed to get photocopies and just looked at digital images.  As much money that went into this originally, I will eventually go and get them in person.  I would also like to stress to all that keeping records of ALL the family is important such that our lines fade into time.  The images are blurry, burnt, scratched through, and smudged and becoming more so with every view as well as time.  I invested in an Imagery Scope and although it was over 250$, I could still barely make out some of the images.  Too, cemetery records are inaccurate.  I was asked about the Coat of Arms.  The one you see on my facebook is probably the MOST accurate as it was displayed in the Arweiler district about 1290 AD.  In creating a Coat of Arms for say, the Hoffeld Family, one would want to include the historical eagle and wheel of the Palatinate and create from there.  The Teutonic Cross would not be included as I do not believe any of us have served in the Teutonic Knighthood. Coats of Arms were unique to each family and each person, namely the eldest son, had their own.  Additionally, if the father served in the Marines, he may have an anchor or crossed guns and his eldest son's arms would have the Eagle and wheel, crossed guns, and something that the eldest son had accomplished. The Science of Heraldry is an in-depth study and my description is a far cry from that of someone schooled in this unique and challenging science.  If anyone is interested, there is a man who will design an Armorial Achievement for you at a reasonable cost and will not plagiarize anyone else's "Coat of Arms".  It makes a great Christmas or birthday gift.  I am not affiliated with the site; I make no money on referrals.  He can be found here: 


  
I wish to thank the following organizations and persons for --
Rize Kurdic - Historical Research
Margie Hoffeld Badger - Family Information/Photos
Thorsten and Anja Hoffeld - Family Information/Germany
Susan B. Hoffeld-McAlpin - Family Information/Photos
Sandra Hoffeld-Morton - Family Information
Joe Hoffeld - Family Information
Ethan Hoffeld - Medieval Latin Translations
Parish of Sankt Nikolai - Records
Town of Hoffeld, SG
Sarah Klein - City of Berlin, Germany - Research
Mary Branaugh - City of Dublin, Ireland - Research
Michael Byrne - Dublin Library - Irish Translations/Records
Paul Rustaldi - City of Florence, Italy - Research
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
City of Baltimore, MD
City of Chicago, IL
State of Pennsylvania, Vital Records
State of Texas, Vital Records
FamilySearch.org
OneGreatFamily.com
Wikitree
Catholic Diocese - Adenau, Germany - Brother Luke - Research
www.avotaynu.com/books/MenkNames.htm
rootsweb.ancestry.com
nativeheritageproject.com
http://www.meaning-of-names.com/directory/submit.asp

Meanings of names