The Kinzler Name

The image above depicts an interpretation of the earliest known Kinzler coat of arms, as documented in Rietstap's Armorial General. The original description of the arms may be translated as follows:

Shield: silver; an old man issuing, his clothing red, collar and cuffs silver supporting in his right hand, an owl divided horizontally silver and blue; Crest: the old man of the shield issuing between two elephant trunks divided horizontally silver and red.

The surname Kinzler is a comparatively rare name, and appears to be patronymical in origin. Research indicates that it can be associated with the Germans of the Swabia region, meaning, "descendant of Juntzel [Kuntzel?], a pet form of Konrad". Kintzel, Kuntzel, and Kinzlers are probable spelling variations.

In Germany, the highest concentrations of Kinzlers are in the region of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest part of the country, with an estimated population of 868. Small numbers of Kinzlers are also known in Switzerland, Austria, Great Britain and France.

There exist approximately 431 American Kinzler households and about 948 American Kinzlers, living in 35 of the 50 states. The highest concentrations of households are in Pennsylvania (55) and North Dakota (52), followed by Illinois (45), Florida (35), New York (28) and California (28).

The earliest known Kinzler immigrant to the US arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1857. Many of the North Dakotan Kinzlers call themselves Germans from Russia or Volga Germans, their ancestors having migrated from German states to parts of the Russian Empire and later to the United States, and a few even have a sense of humor about it.

A forum for discussing the Kinzler family genealogy is available.

Some early Kinzler's on the Net

Steve Kinzler <steve@kinzler.com> 27 May 1998