Von

: For the Sigur Rós album, see Von (album).

Related Topics:
Sigur Rós - Von (album)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

: For the nursing service, see Victorian Order of Nurses

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Von (generally in small case only as von) is a German preposition which approximately means of or from.

Related Topics:
German - Preposition

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When it is used as a part of a German family name, it can indicate a member of the nobility, like the French "de". At certain times and places, it was illegal for anyone who was not a member of the nobility to use von before their family name. However, in the middle ages the "von" particle was still a common part of names and was widely used also by commoners, e.g. "Hans von Duisburg" meant Hans from (the city of) Duisburg.

Related Topics:
Family name - Nobility - French - Duisburg

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The abolition of the monarchies in Germany and Austria in 1919 meant that neither state had a privileged nobilty, and both had exclusively republican governments. In Germany, this meant that in principle von simply became an ordinary part of the names of the people who used it. There were no longer any legal privileges or constraints associated with this naming convention, although in practice, many people with von in their names are still listed in telephone books and other files under the rest of their name. (e.g. Ludwig von Mises would be under M in the phone book rather than V). In Austria, in contrast, not only were the privileges of the nobility abolished, their titles were abolished as well. Thus, for example, Friedrich von Hayek became Friedrich Hayek in 1919 when Austria abolished all indicators of nobility in family names. On this issue, also see Austrian nobility.

Related Topics:
Monarchies - Germany - Austria - 1919 - Republic - Telephone book - Ludwig von Mises - Title - Friedrich Hayek - Austrian nobility

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the Nordic countries, von is common but not universal in the names of noble families of German origin and has occasionally been used as a part of names of ennobled families of native or foreign, but non-German, extraction, as with the family of the philosopher Georg Henrik von Wright, which is of Scottish origin.

Related Topics:
Nordic countries - Georg Henrik von Wright - Scottish origin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Not all members of families which begin with "von" are holders of a title of some kind, generally Baron or Baroness, regardless of whether their parents are living or dead, as it can be said that while most all German 'nobles' use 'von', not all users of 'von' are noble! (Some very old noble families, the Uradel, do not use "von" but are nevertheless still considered noble.) Also, one has untitled nobility in Germany - families considered 'noble' but who were never created a Freiherr (Baron) or Graf (Count) by a king or emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. It is a mistake to refer to THE Baron von Richthofen, since all male von Richthofens were barons. Ancient families distinguish themselves from newly ennobled ones by abbreviating von to v. This is also the traditional practice of nobles in North Germany.

Related Topics:
Uradel - Holy Roman Empire

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~