It’s All in the Name

Image: Geographical distribution of the name Springorum. (Source: https://nl.geneanet.org/familienamen/SPRINGORUM)

Surname Frequency

The surname Springorum is very rare. Those who carry it most likely trace back to a common ancestor, making them distant relatives. This map helps test this idea by showing where the name is most concentrated. If there's only one hotspot, it likely points to a single family line. In this case, though, two clear hotspots stand out: one in Nordrhein-Westfalen and another near Amsterdam/Utrecht. They’re not far apart, but the key question is this—are the Springorums in these two regions actually connected?

Geographical Distribution

Geneanet lists 438 individuals with the surname Springorum. The distribution, from 1600 to the present, is based on entries in the Geneanet database.

Etymology

The surname Springorum has Germanic origins. The word "spring" might refer to a natural spring of water or a leap, both meanings found in old German. The ending "-orum" has a Latin feel and often points to a place or origin. Put together, the name probably described someone who came from a place with natural springs.

Spelling variations

Spelling variations are common in historical documents, especially before the 20th century. Standardized spelling simply didn’t exist, and names were often written phonetically. The surname Springorum is quite rare and has a distinctive Latin-Germanic form, so major spelling variations are uncommon. However, over the centuries—especially in older handwritten records—we encounter a few variations:

• Springorum (Most modern records)
• Springhorn, Springhoorn (German dialect spelling)
• Sprinckhorn, Sprinckhoorn, Sprinckhooren (Phonetic variants)
• Sprinkhoorn
• Springhorum
• Springori
• Springoorum
• Springcorum
• Springoreym

For wildcard searches in archives I use sprin*or* which catches all these variations