18C Prussian female surname -en or -in suffix?

Question

I would like to add Daniel's wife, who I have documented at FamilySearch here. The surname is mostly given as "Tabberten" or "Tabbertin". No others of these surnames currently appear on WikiTree.

Is this the female form of "Tabbert" - of which there are many?

If so, should I create her with the LNAB as "Tabbert" - or the feminine form?

This is a general question for all such female profiles.

As an aside, if "Tabbertin" is the feminine form of "Tabbert", then I suspect her baptism is at FamilySearch here.

Comments

I can't speak for others but I do a lot of German genealogy. I do not include the "in" feminization when recording the surname field of females although I do include it when quoting a source where it appears.

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I agree with Jillaine, but am happy to learn about "en" as variant of this.

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Most of the sources on her FamilySearch profile end with -en, and I don't currently know if it's a transcription error, her actual family name, or a variant of the feminine suffix.

Answer 1

In Germany exists a lot of female endings of a name. The ending depends on the area the person is located. You will find -in, -en, -s, -sche, -n, -i, -e and some others.

I never use them as part of a name, only write it sometimes in the bio. But there are also researcher who use female namens with the ending.

Comments

Prior to the establishment of registry offices in Germany these female endings were used in official documents like church books. But there existed no official law to use them as part of the name.

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Thanks again Dieter!

I have created a profile for the Helena Sophia Tabbert that I have a baptism source for - and suggested on both profiles that she may be Daniel's wife.

Answer 2

The "en" ending on family names is a possessive form, just like our use of an apostrophe "s."

Comments

Thanks Daniel,

would the possessive form on birth/baptism records for children indicate anything (such as previous marriage)?

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Possessive endings have nothing to do with the subject matter, theyonly show possession, as in "Daniel Tabberten frau," (Daniel Tabbert's wife) or "Daniel Tabberten Tochter" (Daniel Tabbert's daughter).

Answer 3

I agree with others that -in is usually a feminine ending and that -en sometimes is a genitive ending (you have to understand the grammar of the sentence to determine this). But there are also surnames that end with -in or -en. To determine if is an ending or part of the name, look for male family members mentioned in records of the same period in the nominative case (subject of a sentence or in the margin). If there is an -en or -in at the end of a masculine surname in the nominative form, it is not an ending but part of the surname. Same goes for a final -s. In some areas of northern Germany, -s was a patronymic ending that later became part of the permanent surname, as in Rhenold>Rhenolds.

Comments

Thanks Ann, useful info. In my particular case I'm still searching for male relatives.