A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Grebel family of Switzerland.
Reg. 4959 · Swiss, G–I
Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
Symbols on this shield
lionCourage, strength and royalty
Colours
Red (Gules)Means: Military strength
Silver (Argent)Means: Peace and sincerity
Historical info
Source
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)
“De gu. au lion naiss. d'arg., la poitrine ch. d'une étoile du champ.”
Switzerlandc. 1745
Where the Grebel Arms Were Recorded
Bern
Map of Switzerland showing where the Grebel arms are recorded
The Grebel arms were recorded in Switzerland, c. 1745.
Arms such as these were typically recorded in Bern.
Bern was the largest of the Swiss cantons and ran itself, with its own council and its own courts. Its governing families held office for generations, and office of that kind carried a shield with it.
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 Switzerland in this period.
How Arms Worked in Switzerland
In Switzerland, coats of arms were not restricted to the nobility and were often adopted by common citizens and families. These symbols were passed down through generations to show family identity. When branches of a family grew, they often changed small details of the design to distinguish their own line from the original group.
Granting authority
Cantonal and civic authorities managed the use of coats of arms within their specific regions and local jurisdictions.
How they got arms
Families typically assumed their own coats of arms based on local custom rather than receiving them from a central monarch.
Where arms were recorded
Arms were recorded in various cantonal and civic registers starting from the fourteenth century throughout the Swiss region.
The family's standing
Recorded among the armigerous families of Switzerland.
Origin & History of the Grebel Family in Switzerland
The Grebel family name is deeply rooted in the history of the Swiss canton of Bern, where records confirm their presence by the mid-eighteenth century. The name is thought to have originated from the Middle High German word *grebel*, which was often used to describe a small hook or a specific type of agricultural tool. This suggests that the earliest ancestors of the family were likely people who worked the land or were skilled craftsmen in rural communities. As the family established themselves in the region around 1745, they became part of the local social fabric during a time when Bern was a powerful city-state. Over the following generations, the Grebel name became associated with the steady growth of families who helped shape the local economy and community life in the Swiss countryside.
Related Branches & Arms
Root word
Kreb
A Middle High German term referring to a crab or crayfish.
This name
GrebelA topographic or occupational name for someone living near a stream or a fisherman.
also spelled
Grebel
Grebill
Grebille
Documented Sources
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen, 1957
Heintze, Albert, Die deutschen Familiennamen: geschichtlich, geographisch, sprachlich, 1933
Staatsarchiv des Kantons Bern, Kirchenbücher der Stadt und Landschaft Bern
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lionCourage, strength and royalty
lionCourage, strength and royalty
