Floor 1 / foyer

Ziesenis name and origin

The surname Ziesenis

The surname Ziesenis (also Zisenis or Zieseniss / Zieseniß) is a not common but old German name, documented in the original spellings Tzysenise, Tzisenise and Zisenise since the 15th century: Around the year 1450 in the villages Benthe, Lemmie and Wettbergen in what was then Go Gehrden, southwest of the city of Hanover, and in the nearby village of Arnum, these three names were noted in a grain register. A carter named Ludeke Tzisenise became a citizen of the city of Hanover around 1480 as the first representative of the name Ziesenis in that town.

The meaning of the old Saxon name from the syllables zise and nise is still unclear. The same is true of the rare name Desenis (Desenise), which occurs somewhat later. The first syllable is often translated as tax , as is known from the 'Bierzise', meaning beer tax, ​​for example. On the other hand, in the north of East Germany, there is a ditch called Zise between two streams, which has nothing to do with a tax . Names such as Sisegard, Sise... and Sise... have been handed down from the even older Visigoth, although the meaning of the prefix Sise is unclear. In Latvian sisenis stands for grasshopper, from which no plausible meaning can be derived. Even less is there an explanation of the second syllable nise .

The spelling of the name changed regionally and often differently at the same time, from the shortened form Zisenis (also Sisenis or, more rarely, Cisenis) to forms with a long 'i', i.e. with one or two 'ie', such as Ziesenis, Zisenies or Ziesenies. At the same time, spellings with double 's' or with 'ß', both in the middle of the name and at the end, developed through language use.

The spread of the name Ziesenis from the beginning to the 18th century

Until the beginning of the Reformation, which took its course in Calenberger Land around 1534, the name Ziesenis is mentioned in a few documents. After that, church registers were introduced, which represent an important source of family history, but are not always handed down consistently. Other important sources are the head tax descriptions of 1585 and 1689 and the Calenberger musters register of 1692. Supplemented by further poll tax collections as well as citizen and tax registers of the cities, these documents make it possible to understand the distribution of the name Ziesenis in the Calenberger Land and beyond.

While the occurrence of the name Ziesenis seems to have been limited to the above-mentioned villages of Arnum, Benthe, Lemmie and Wettbergen and the city of Hanover up to 1534, the poll tax description of 1585 already shows a wider spread. Around 1690 almost the entire Calenberger Land was populated by Ziesenis; more and more Ziesenis individuals can be found in the adjacent areas.

In the 18th century, due to the growth of mostly rural families and military conflicts, there was a general increase in migration and the deportation of the male population and thus the spread of the family name to other German and neighboring European countries. Emigration to the 'New World', i.e. to America, and to the colonies followed in the 19th century.

The distribution of the name Ziesenis and the history of the Calenberger Land and the city of Hanover up to 1750 will be shown on separate panels in the future.