Name Murgenthaler
Red: Places in Switzerland where Morgenthaler have their place of citizenship.
The place Murgenthal lies at the river Aare upriver of the town of Aarburg. Murgenthal got its name from the river Murg. The river Langete changes its name to Murg before it flows into the river Aare. Therefore, Murgenthal names the valley of the river Murg. The family name Murgenthaler therefore describes a person coming from the Murgenthal.
The root of Murgenthal is, however, Murga Dun and contains the Celtic word Dun meaning 'fortification'. However, this term Dun was no longer understood from the Middle Ages onward and likely evolved into the more logically sounding term Thal (valley)."
Has the name Murgenthaler developped into Morgenthaler?
According to information available to the author from church records, it appears that in Ursenbach and Dürrenroth, the name Morgenthaler actually developed from the spelling Murgentthaller between 1650 and 1770.
In Attelwil, in the canton of Aargau, however, the oldest register from 1769 already recorded the name in its current form, Morgenthaler.
The family coat of arms, featuring a rising sun above mountain peaks, suggests a literal interpretation of “morning valley” (Morgen-Thal) more than a linguistic development from Murgenthaler to Morgenthaler.
The author of the page does not believe that Morgenthaler fundamentally derives from Murgenthaler. The German word Morgen (morning) has no etymological connection to the river Murg. Furthermore, there was no general phonetic shift in German from U to O, and the word Morgen was not historically pronounced as Murgen.
However, it is conceivable that bearers of the name Murgenthaler may have migrated to regions where the river Murg was unknown. In such areas, the unfamiliar term Murgen might have been replaced with the more familiar word Morgen, potentially giving rise to the name Morgenthaler.
Additionally, old official records often show inconsistent spelling of family names. It was not uncommon for siblings to have their surnames written differently in such registers. This kind of inaccuracy may even have led to a permanent change in a family name.
Name Mergenthaler
A similar effect could have taken place to form the US name Mergenthaler: As neither Morgen, Murgen nor Thaler means anything in English, a simple spelling mistake could have lead to a new family name.
Please contact the site author if you have additional, different or new information about this subject.