Map of France showing where the Hochfelder arms are recorded
The Hochfelder arms were recorded in Alsace, c. 1663.
Alsace lay between France and the German lands and belonged to both at different times. Its families held small estates and served whichever side ruled, and men who served in arms carried arms of their own.
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 France in this period.
Louis XIV of France
Sovereign of the period
Louis XIV of France
1643–1715
Reigning in France when the Hochfelder arms are first recorded.
How Arms Worked in France
In France, a coat of arms was a mark of honor that passed down through the male line to all legitimate descendants. Families often used the same shield without changes to show their shared heritage. If a branch wanted to stand out, they could add a small mark to their shield to show their specific place in the family tree.
Granting authority
The Juge d'armes de France acted as the official authority that regulated and verified coats of arms across the country.
How they got arms
Families typically inherited their arms from ancestors, though they could also receive them through royal grants or by proving their noble status.
Where arms were recorded
Coats of arms were officially recorded in the Armorial Général de France, which began its main collection in the year 1696.
The family's standing
Recorded among the armigerous families of Alsace.
Origin & History of the Hochfelder Family in France
The surname Hochfelder is a locative name, meaning it was originally derived from a specific place rather than a trade or personal trait. The name translates from German as "high field," suggesting that the family’s earliest ancestors likely lived on or worked a piece of elevated farmland. By 1663, records confirm that members of the family were well-established in the Alsace region, a territory located between the Rhine River and the Vosges Mountains. During this period, Alsace was a cultural crossroads where German and French influences blended, and families like the Hochfelders were often involved in the agricultural life of the local villages. Because the name is tied to the landscape, it reflects the deep connection early family members had to the fertile, rolling terrain of the Alsatian countryside.
Related Branches & Arms
Root word
Hochfeld
A high or elevated field or piece of land.
This name
HochfelderRefers to a person who lived near or originated from a high field.
also spelled
Hockfelder
Hochfeld
Hochfeldere
Hokfelder
Related arms
Wordtsame arms
Hochfeldvariant spelling
Documented Sources
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Bahlow, Hans. Deutsches Namenlexikon: Familien- und Vornamen nach Ursprung und Sinn erklärt. 1967
Heintze, Albert. Die deutschen Familien-Namen: geschichtlich, geographisch, sprachlich. 1903
Archives départementales du Bas-Rhin, Registres paroissiaux et documents d'état civil
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