Surname Kienbaum - Meaning and Origin

Kienbaum: What does the surname Kienbaum mean?

The last name Kienbaum is of German origin and its literal meaning is “comb tree”. It is derived from the German words “kien” meaning “comb” and “baum” meaning “tree” - hence the name Kienbaum. It is believed that the Kienbaum surname began as a way to identify a local distinctiveness, that of a person from the comb-tree area.

Historically, Kienbaum was a toponymic surname, primarily used to identify a person who came from the town of Kienbaum in the north east of Germany. During the 19th century, as people began to migrate from their original homes, many of them chose to keep the name Kienbaum as part of their identity.

The Kienbaum surname can be found in records throughout Germany since the Middle Ages, indicating that the Kienbaums were a family of some importance in their local community. Later on, as people with the Kienbaum name spread out over the world, their descendants adopted many different nationalities, faiths and occupations, ensuring that the Kienbaum name is preserved and passed on to the next generations.

Today, the Kienbaum surname is a strong reminder of the long and proud history of the Kienbaum family, one rooted in the many communities throughout Germany and across the world. It is a strong representation of the family's strength and identity, and a reminder of the spirit of their ancestors.

Kienbaum: Where does the name Kienbaum come from?

The last name Kienbaum is most common in Germany today. According to surname distribution data collected from the website geneanet.org, the Kienbaum surname has a relatively high frequency in the states of Hesse, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Thuringia, and Rhineland-Palatinate.

Kienbaum is also found throughout the German-speaking regions of Europe, including Austria, Switzerland, and other nearby countries. Outside of Europe, it can be found in the United States, Canada, and Australia, albeit with much lower frequencies.

The Kienbaum surname was most common in the early 19th century, when German migration to the United States caused a spike in its popularity. Since then, the surname has become established in English speaking countries, but its highest concentration remains in Germany.

The origin of the Kienbaum surname is suggested to be from the German word 'Kienbaum'. In German, 'Kien' means 'oak tree', and 'baum' means 'tree'. Thus, the surname of Kienbaum literally translates to 'oak tree'. This suggests the name could have been given to someone who was born in, or resided in, places where oak trees were abundant.

Today, the Kienbaum surname is quite common and continues to be a popular choice among many German-speaking families in Germany.

Variations of the surname Kienbaum

The surname Kienbaum originated as a Germanic name, and is most commonly found in the USA, Germany, Austria, and other countries with Germanic populations. Variants of the surname Kienbaum can be found as Kienbohm, Kienböhm, Kienboom, Kienbom, Kienboehm, Kienbuhm, Kienbam, Kienbach, Kienbachs, Kienbuhms, and Kienbaums.

There are also many variations of spelling for this surname, notably including Kienebom, Kienbaumm, Kienbam, Kienbom, Kienboem, Kyenebaum, Keinbaum, Kienboehm, Kienboehm, Kienbohme, Kienbaumme, and Keinboehm.

Kienbaum is a patronymic surname, passed down from an ancestor whose given name was Kien. While the spelling may vary, the origin of the name is the same. Similarly, many of the surnames mentioned above are derived from other versions of the ancestor’s given name, or a combination of the given name and the ‘baum’ suffix, meaning “tree”, signifying a strong connection to the family tree.

In the United States, the most common form of the surname is Kienbaum, while in Germany the most common forms are Kienbohm and Kienböhm, and in Austria the most common form is Kienbam, as well as Kienbuhm.

The Kienbaum surname is also found in other parts of the world, such as Canada, Australia, South Africa, and other countries with Germanic populations. Even outside of Germanic countries the surname rarely changes in spelling, making it easy to trace a family's origins back through the centuries, often to the same place and time.

Thus, whether it be Kienbohm, Kienbaum, Kienböhm, Kienboom, Kienbaumme, Kienbuhm, Kienbaums, Kienebom, Kienbam, Kienbom, Kienboem, Kyenebaum, Keinbaum, Kienbohme, or Keinboehm, they are all derived from one origin.

Famous people with the name Kienbaum

• Moritz Kienbaum: an influential German academic and social scientist in the field of organizational theory and public administration who coined the term ‘organizational culture’.
• Karl Kienbaum: a 19th-century German artist, poet and architect.
• Erich Kienbaum: a German Wehrmacht General Staff officer, General of the Infantry during World War II and one of the leading designers of the German forces in the east in the early stages of the war.
• Anke Kienbaum: a German artistic gymnast from East Germany who competed in international competitions between 1977 and 1980.
• Frederick Kienbaum: an early German-American settler and prominent figure in the Delaware and Ohio Country during the first half of the 19th century.
• Peter Kienbaum: a German banker, civil society expert and Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
• Jean Baptiste Kienbaum: a French Jesuit missionary and parlementaire during the period of the Révolution française.
• Robert Kienbaum: a German lawyer and high-ranking official of the Foreign Office and a member of the Reichsbank Board.
• Robert Kienbaum Jr.: a German-American theater director, having served as Acting Director for the Bremen-based Metropoltheater for 30 years.
• Franz Kienbaum: a member of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic.

Other surnames

Kienbacher