What are the origins of the surnames Briegel and Hinchliffe?

Question

What are the origins of the surnames Briegel and Hinchliffe?

Answer 1

BRIEGEL

German: topographic name from Middle High German bruogel ‘wet, fertile meadow’. Compare Bruehl.

Bruehl:

German (Brühl): topographic name for someone who lived by a swampy area, Middle High German brüel, Middle Low German brul ‘swampy land with brushwood’.

German and Jewish (western Ashkenazic): habitational name from Brühl in Germany.

HINCHLIFFE

English (Yorkshire): variant of Hinchcliffe.

Hinchcliffe:

English (Yorkshire): habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire, so named from an unattested Old English element henge ‘steep’ + Old English clif ‘cliff’.

Answer 2

Briegel:

German: topographic name from Middle High German bruogel ‘wet, fertile meadow’. Compare Bruehl.

Hinchliffe:

Variation of Hinchcliffe

English (Yorkshire): habitational name from a place in West Yorkshire, so named from an unattested Old English element henge ‘steep’ + Old English clif ‘cliff’.

Answer 3

Are you hoping to learn more about your ancestry??

If you notice above, the names have more than one origin. This is true for MANY names... they will come from several places, and any of those could be valid.

One serious error for new researchers, is to find that such and such a name "is Irish" (or whatever country), and assume that this proves they are then Irish.

An easy example is Lee.. this is an English name.. it also is found as a common Chinese name. And, if someone African American has the name, it would not make them English at all.

The only reliable way to know your own heritage, is to actually trace the PERSONS, find the immigrant ancestor and verify where they originated.

Answer 4

This is what I found for you

Surname: Hinchcliffe

This unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname deriving from the place called 'Hinchcliff' near Holmfirth, in West Yorkshire. The placename means '(settlement at) the steep cliff', derived from the Old English pre 7th Century 'henge', steep with 'clif', cliff, rock, steep descent. Locational surnames were usually acquired by those former inhabitants of a place who had moved to another area, and thereafter were best identified by the name of their birthplace. The modern surname from this source can be found in a variety of forms: Hinchcliff(e), Hinchliff(e), Henchcliff(e) and Hinchsliff, and the surname development includes: John Hyncheclyffe (1441, Yorkshire), William Hynseclif (1485, ibid.), Henry Henseclyf (1552, ibid.) and John Hinchliffe (1633, ibid.). The marriage of John Hinchcliffe and Margaret Longbottom was recorded in Halifax, Yorkshire, on April 14th 1588. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Hengeclif, which was dated 1324, in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire, during the reign of King Edward 11, known as 'Edward of Caernafon', 1307-1327. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

http://www.surnamedb.com/

And the following came from www.ancestry.com

Briegel Name Meaning and History

German: topographic name from Middle High German bruogel ‘wet, fertile meadow’. Compare Bruehl.

hope this helps.