A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Bollenbach family of Germany.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Coupé d'arg. sur sa. C.: deux prob. aux armes de l'écu, ornées chacune dans son embouchure de trois pl. d'aut., une de sa. entre deux d'arg.”
The Bollenbach arms were recorded in Bavaria, c. 1765.
Bavaria was a country of old landed families and walled market towns. Estates passed down the same line for centuries, and both the landowners and the leading townsmen kept arms, which is why so many Bavarian names sit in the registers.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in Germany in this period.
Reigning in Germany when the Bollenbach arms are first recorded.
In the Holy Roman Empire, coats of arms were often granted to individuals by the Emperor or his representatives. These arms were then passed down through the generations to all legitimate descendants of the original holder. Younger branches of a family usually kept the same shield design without needing to change it, as the arms belonged to the entire lineage.
The family name Bollenbach originates from the German language and is classified as a topographic surname. This means the name was likely chosen to describe the specific location where the first family members lived. The name combines the word Bollen, which often refers to a rounded hill or a bulbous plant, with the word Bach, which means a stream or a creek. By 1765, records confirm that the Bollenbach family was well-established in the region of Bavaria. During this period, families in rural Bavaria were typically tied to the land through agriculture. They likely lived in a small settlement near a stream that flowed past a distinctive rounded hill. As the family grew, members moved throughout the region, carrying the name as a link to their original ancestral home.
A rounded hill or knoll and a small stream or brook.
