Bachenheimer Genealogy and Bachenheimer Family History Information

There are at least two schools of thought about the origin and meaning of the family name Bachenheimer. This name was adopted by one or more families in and around Rauischholzhausen, a small village a few kilometers eaast of Marburg, in the early 19th century as a result of the requirement imposed during by Napoleonic regime to take a "German-sounding " name and abandon the usual Jewish patronymic naming convention of "X-son of -Y". One school believes the name derives from the term "brook [water] bucket (Bach eimer). The other school believes the name derives from the term brook dweller (Bach heimer). An argument favoring the latter is that at least one of the Bachenheimer houses in Rauischholzhausen is in close proximity to the Ruelfbach, a small stream running through the village. Another is that this same house had a small stream running through the root cellar beneath the house.