Surname Nissle - Meaning and Origin
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Nissle: What does the surname Nissle mean?
The last name Nissle is of Germanic origin and is derived from the surname Nissen, which is derived from the German word for “little person”. The name likely indicates that the family are of small stature or have aristocratic roots.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Nissle dates back to 1270 in the Kunreuth district of Franconia which is located in present-day Bavaria. This indicates that the family likely originated in this region or moved there during the Middle Ages.
The name Nissle could have come from a variety of different Germanic names such as the Norse name “Nissal” which translates to “companion”, the Middle High German name “Nössel” which translates to “small”, or the Germanic names “Niesen” or “Naissan” which both translate to mean “to be small”.
The name Nissle is fairly rare in modern times but is still concentrated mainly in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The Nissle family is still well represented in Munich, Regensburg, and Bratislava, which suggests they have maintained strong family roots in these communities for centuries.
The Nissle family takes great pride in their ancestry and heritage, with many members finding community among other Nissle families and tracing their lineage in order to know exactly where their family came from.
Order DNA origin analysisNissle: Where does the name Nissle come from?
The last name Nissle is a relatively uncommon last name in today’s world. Although it has been documented to exist in various countries since the mid-16th century, the exact origin of the name is uncertain. It is thought that it likely originated in Germany, given that Nissle is a rather uncommon name in English-speaking countries.
The surname is most strongly associated with Germany, where it is believed to originate from, but can also be found in Austria, the United States, Canada, and other parts of Europe. Records show that the name has been in Germany since at least the 1600s. The name has also been tracked in countries as far away as the United States and Canada, but this is likely due to the immigration of Germans to North America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Within Germany, the Nissle surname is most heavily represented in small towns and villages in southern and western Germany. Members of the Nissle family can still be found in these areas today, mainly concentrated in Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate.
Though the Nissle surname is relatively uncommon today, there is still a strong presence in Germany, thanks to centuries of maintaining records and documentation of the family’s whereabouts and activities. It is likely that the name will continue to exist in Germany for many years to come.
Variations of the surname Nissle
Nissle is a German surname that has many variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin. Nissle denotes a person or family from the Low German region of Germany and is ultimately derived from the name Nicholas. Variant and alternate spellings of Nissle include Nissel, Nessel, Nesel, Nessel, Niesle, Niesel, Knesel, Kniesel, and Knissel. Surnames derived from the same origin include Nissen, Nössler, Nösel, Nösslein, Nodl, and Noelles.
Nissel can also be found in related immigrant surnames in the United States including Nizel, Nysle, Nizelaire, and Nyslew. In South Africa, the surname is sometimes written as Nyssle, with Nyssel sometimes being used as an English spelling of the surname.
The name is of Germanic origin, derived from the name Nicholas, however, it is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages as a nickname related to the Germanic word for "little mouse" ("nissl" or "naesel"). Despite its origins, it is not an exclusively German name and is found throughout Europe and even parts of Asia.
It is not widely used as a given name; however, there are some people in Europe who do use this as a given name. It is believed that the name Nissle may have originally been a nickname based on the German word for "little mouse", and as such the name is often related to the character of Nicholas. Thus, variations of the name Nicholas such as Niklas, Nicolaus, Nikolai, and Nichola can be linked to the surname.
Famous people with the name Nissle
- Sebastian Nissle: German musician best known for his work on the film composition and musical sound production of the 1996 film Zwischenspiel.
- Dr. med. Hans Nissle: German pediatrician who studied invasive bacterial infections in the intestines. He is credited for the discovery of Nissle 1917, a strain of the bacterium Escherichia coli used in the preparation of a probiotic called Mutaflor.
- Franz Nissle: Austrian astronomer who discovered 17 asteroids between 1996 and 2011.
- Martin Nissle: German Austrian-born Soviet violinist who won the Leipzig International Violin Competition in 1958.
- Lee Nissle: Australian professional basketball player and grandson of legendary coach Del Nissle.
- Kaare Nissen: Danish professor of bioorganic chemistry credited for discovering the first enzyme with an iron-sulfur cluster.
- Sigurd Nissle: Norwegian physician and botanist who conducted significant research on Norwegian plant life and published several books on the topic.
- Gerhard Nissle: German surgeon who was part of the army medical corps during WWI. He is credited with the discovery of Nissle bodies, which are elevated deposits of aninori-like material in the nucleus of a cell.
- Del Nissle: American basketball coach and father of NBA player Lee Nissle.
- Emma Nissle: Germanforcefulcom volmachineplayer and daughter of Sigurd Nissle. She is a member of the German team that took part in the 2016 Olympic Games.