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Name origin

The German state of Bavaria is the ancestral home of the Doerner family. Doerner is a local name. Doerner is a name for someone who lived near a thorn-bush or hedge. The surname Doerner is derived from the German word dorn, which means thorn. Thus, the name was adopted by a person who lived near thorn bushes. The name Doerner also was used by people from Dornach, which is a town located near Munich in Bavaria. There is also a town named Dörnach in Tübingen, Westphalia and a city named Thorn (which is now Torun) in Poland. In Bavaria, the Doerner family lived on a feudal estate. Land proprietorship and management were the sole source of wealth and power in the Middle Ages and the Doerner family, as noble landowners, became prestigious members of the landed aristocracy.

Spelling variations include: Dorn, Dorner, Doorn, Doern, Dorne, Dorns and others.

First found in Bavaria, where the name came from humble beginnings but gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the emerging mediaeval society.

Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: Christian Dorn, age 35; settled in Charles Town, South Carolina in 1766; Daniel Dorn settled in New Jersey in 1763; Godfrey Dorn settled in Philadelphia in 1842.[1]


The secret to success is to do the common things uncommonly well.

Notes

1.*"Doerner Family Crest"