Map of Germany showing where the Regel arms are recorded
The Regel arms were recorded in Franconia, c. 1765.
Franconia was a patchwork of small territories in central Germany, full of minor landowners and prosperous market towns. So many separate households held land there that the region produced a great many coats of 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.
The body that granted and recorded arms in Germany in this period.
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Sovereign of the period
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
1745–1765
Reigning in Germany when the Regel arms are first recorded.
How Arms Worked in Germany
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.
Granting authority
The Holy Roman Emperor held the sole power to grant new coats of arms throughout his vast imperial territories.
How they got arms
Families typically obtained their coats of arms through a formal imperial grant or by proving their noble status to the authorities.
Where arms were recorded
These grants were officially recorded in the Imperial Chancery registers, which began keeping formal records of such honors during the Middle Ages.
The family's standing
Recorded among the armigerous families of Franconia.
Origin & History of the Regel Family in Germany
The family name Regel has deep roots in the Franconia region of Germany, where historical records confirm the family was well-established by 1765. The name is believed to have originated as a descriptive term or a nickname, likely derived from the Middle High German word "regel," which often referred to a rule, a straight piece of wood, or someone who acted in a disciplined or orderly manner. During the eighteenth century, families in this part of Bavaria were typically tied to the land through agriculture or specialized local trades. As members of the community, the Regel family would have been subject to the social and economic shifts of the Holy Roman Empire, living in a society defined by village life and local parish administration. By the mid-1700s, the name was already part of the fabric of Franconian society, reflecting a long history of settlement in the central German highlands.
Related Branches & Arms
Root word
Regula
Latin term meaning rule, regulation, or standard.
This name
RegelDerived from a nickname for a person who lived by a strict rule or a law-abiding individual.
also spelled
Regle
Regell
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 Familiennamen: geschichtlich, geographisch, sprachlich, 1903
Staatsarchiv Bamberg, Standesamtliche Unterlagen und Kirchenbücher der Region Franken, 1765
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