A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Dorff family of Austria.
Reg. 0993 · Austrian, D–F
Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
Symbols on this shield
knightChivalry and service in arms
Colours
Gold (Or)Means: Generosity
Red (Gules)Means: Military strength
Historical info
Source
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)
“D'or à un homme iss., hab. de gu., coiffé d'un bonnet albanais du même, retr. et houppé d'or, décochant une flèche de sa. d'un arc du même. C.: l'homme, iss.”
Austriac. 1772
Where the Dorff Arms Were Recorded
Tyrol
Map of Austria showing where the Dorff arms are recorded
The Dorff arms were recorded in Austria, c. 1772.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in Tyrol.
Tyrol was mountain country in western Austria, where the valleys were held by families who had been there a very long time. Old tenure counted for more than money, and old families carried arms.
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.
Region
Tyrol
First recorded
1772
Granting Authority for the Dorff Arms
Imperial and Royal chancery
Sodacan · CC BY-SA 3.0
The body that granted and recorded arms in Austria in this period.
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Sovereign of the period
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
1765–1790
Reigning in Austria when the Dorff arms are first recorded.
How Arms Worked in Austria
Austrian coats of arms were often linked directly to noble titles granted by the Emperor. These symbols belonged to the entire family line rather than just one individual. When a family grew, new branches kept the original design without needing to change it. This system allowed all members of a noble house to share the same identity across many generations.
Granting authority
The Imperial and Royal chancery managed all heraldic matters and controlled the official granting of arms throughout the Austrian lands.
How they got arms
Families typically received their arms through a formal imperial decree that often accompanied the elevation of a person to noble status.
Where arms were recorded
Official records of these grants were kept in the Imperial Register of Nobility which began its formal documentation process in 1453.
The family's standing
Recorded among the armigerous families of Austria.
Origin & History of the Dorff Family in Austria
The surname Dorff is rooted in the Germanic word for a village or a small settlement. In the mountainous region of Tyrol, families often adopted names that described their specific home or their location within the landscape. By the time records place the family in Tyrol in 1772, the name likely identified ancestors who lived on the outskirts of a village or managed a specific plot of land. During this period, the people of Tyrol lived in tight-knit alpine communities where family names served as a way to track lineage and property rights. Life in the eighteenth-century Alps was defined by agriculture and trade, and the Dorff family would have been part of the local social structure that relied on these stable, land-based identities to organize their daily lives.
Related Branches & Arms
Root word
Dorf
A German word meaning village, hamlet, or small settlement.
This name
DorffRefers to a person who lived in or originated from a small village.
also spelled
Haydt
Dorff
Haydt-Dorff
Documented Sources
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Hermann Wopfner, Die Besiedlung der Alpen durch die Germanen, 1953
Josef Egger, Geschichte Tirols von den ältesten Zeiten bis in die Neuzeit, 1872
knightChivalry and service in arms
knightChivalry and service in arms
