Origin and Background of the Stamm Family

The Stamm surname can easily be traced to its etymological roots. It is, in fact, a rather common word in the modern German language. The masculine noun “Stamm:” means “tree trunk or stem.” The concept of the base of a living object has allowed the word’s meaning to be extended to that of “family tree or race.” The usage has been further extended to a number of terms, “Stammhaus - the family home,” and “Stammbaum - the family tree or pedigree.”

The name is the root for a number of other common German surnames. As such it is referred to in a half dozen German Namenbucher. The name “Stamm” appears in Max Gottschald’s Deutsche Namenkunde. Some names derived from the Stamm root are; Stam, Stammel, Stamme, Stammer, Stammiger, Stammen, and Stammerich. In some cases the vowel has changed to an “e.” This produces variant names such as; Stenn, Stemmen, and Stemmerigren.

The family name seems to have its origins in the former German state of Nassau and the Palatinate. Frankfort would be the most central location for the families’ geographical spread. If one were to draw a line from Kassel through Frankfort and on to Saarbrucken, one would have the early range of our family in Germany. The name is generally associated with the German state of Hesse and prominent German Stamm families are found in the area bounded by Marburg, Wetzler, and Giessen.