Surname – HÖCK
Meaning/Origin – According to the Dictionary of German Names, Second Edition by Hans Bahlow, the name HÖCK be dervived from either dwelling near a hedge (hecke) or from street trader or huckster (höcke).
Countries of Origin – The surname HÖCK is German.
Spelling Variations – The surname has many variations in the records even within my own family, including HOECK, HÖCKH, HECKH or HECK, and HICKH.
Surname Maps – The following maps illustrate the frequency of the HÖCK surname in Germany and Austria. First, in Germany the surname had 914 entries in 183 different counties with approximately 2,432 people with this name.
Distribution of the surname HÖCK in Germany.
SOURCE: Geogen Surname Mapping database, accessed November 27, 2010.
In Austria, the surname had 314 entries in 40 different counties with approximately 832 people with this name.
Distribution of the surname HÖCK in Austria.
SOURCE: Geogen Surname Mapping database, accessed November 27, 2010.
Famous Individuals with the Surname – Stefan Höck was a German biathlete who won a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics.
My Family – My HÖCK family comes from Bavaria, and it is the surname of my 4th great-grandmother, Maria Theresia Höck Nigg. Although Maria was born in Bavaria, her father came from Tirol (Tyrol, Austria).
My line of descent is as follows: Simon HECKH > Johann Baptiste Höck (b. unknown in Hopfau, Tirol, m. Gertraudt PAUR on 18 Feb 1765 in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, Bavaria, d. unknown in Pfaffenhofen a.d. Ilm) > Maria Theresia Höck (b. 27 Apr 1769 in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, Bavaria, m. Karl Nigg on 10 May 1794 in Pfaffenhofen, d. after 1814 in Pfaffenhofen).
I have not yet researched all of the other children of Johann and Gertraudt Höck, but I did find births for Maria Catharina born in 1766, Johann Michael born in 1767, and Maria Magdalena born in 1770.
Johann Baptiste Höck was a zimmerman or carpenter. Pfaffenhofen’s häuserchronik indicates that he was in town by 1765 for his marriage to Gertraudt Paur. In this book, his surname is listed as Hickh (Höckh) and it says he is from the town of Hoepfau in Tirol. His actual marriage record spells his name as Heckh, and says his father, Simon Heckh, is from the town of “Schofau” from Tirol. The handwriting is difficult to decipher. By 1773, Johann Höck is listed in the häuserchronik as the stadtzimmermeister, or the town’s master carpenter. Research on Johann, his family, and his origins is ongoing.
My Research Challenges – While there does not seem to be a town called Hoepfau in the Tyrollean region of Austria, there is a Hopfau in Steiermark. There is also a Hopferau in the Schwaben area of Bavaria in Germany, which is far enough south to have been within the boundaries of Tirol, Austria back at the time my Johann Höck would have been born and moved to Pfaffenhofen. I can not find any town that appears similar to the “Schofau” on the handwritten marriage record. At any rate, more research is needed to uncover these “Austrian” roots!
Links to all posts about my Höck family can be found here.
This post is #10 of an ongoing series about surnames. To see all posts in the series, click here.
Surname – HÖCK
Meaning/Origin – According to the Dictionary of German Names, Second Edition by Hans Bahlow, the name HÖCK be dervived from either dwelling near a hedge (hecke) or from street trader or huckster (höcke).
Countries of Origin – The surname HÖCK is German.
Spelling Variations – The surname has many variations in the records even within my own family, including HOECK, HÖCKH, HECKH or HECK, and HICKH.
Surname Maps – The following maps illustrate the frequency of the HÖCK surname in Germany and Austria. First, in Germany the surname had 914 entries in 183 different counties with approximately 2,432 people with this name.
Distribution of the surname HÖCK in Germany.
SOURCE: Geogen Surname Mapping database, http://christoph.stoepel.net/geogen/en/Default.aspx, accessed November 27, 2010.
In Austria, the surname had 314 entries in 40 different counties with approximately 832 people with this name.
Distribution of the surname HÖCK in Austria.
SOURCE: Geogen Surname Mapping database, http://christoph.stoepel.net/geogen/en/Default.aspx, accessed November 27, 2010.
Famous Individuals with the Surname – Stefan Höck was a German biathlete who won a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics.
My Family – My HÖCK family comes from Bavaria, and it is the surname of my 4th great-grandmother, Maria Theresia Höck Nigg. Although Maria was born in Bavaria, her father came from Tirol (Tyrol, Austria).
My line of descent is as follows: Simon HECKH > Johann Baptiste Höck (b. unknown in Hopfau, Tirol, m. Gertraudt PAUR on 18 Feb 1765 in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, Bavaria, d. unknown in Pfaffenhofen a.d. Ilm) > Maria Theresia Höck (b. 27 Apr 1769 in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, Bavaria, m. Karl Nigg on 10 May 1794 in Pfaffenhofen, d. after 1814 in Pfaffenhofen).
I have not yet researched all of the other children of Johann and Gertraudt Höck, but I did find births for Maria Catharina born in 1766, Johann Michael born in 1767, and Maria Magdalena born in 1770.
Johann Baptiste Höck was a zimmerman or carpenter. Pfaffenhofen’s häuserchronik indicates that he was in town by 1765 for his marriage to Gertraudt Paur. In this book, his surname is listed as Hickh (Höckh) and it says he is from the town of Hoepfau in Tirol. His actual marriage record spells his name as Heckh, and says his father, Simon Heckh, is from the town of “Schofau” from Tirol. The handwriting is difficult to decipher. By 1773, Johann Höck is listed in the häuserchronik as the stadtzimmermeister, or the town’s master carpenter. Research on Johann, his family, and his origins is ongoing.
My Research Challenges – While there does not seem to be a town called Hoepfau in the Tyrollean region of Austria, there is a Hopfau in Steiermark. There is also a Hopferau in the Schwaben area of Bavaria in Germany, which is far enough south to have been within the boundaries of Tirol, Austria back at the time my Johann Höck would have been born and moved to Pfaffenhofen. I can not find any town that appears similar to the “Schofau” on the handwritten marriage record. At any rate, more research is needed to uncover these “Austrian” roots!
Links to all posts about my Höck family can be found here.
Surname – HÖCK
Meaning/Origin – According to the Dictionary of German Names, Second Edition by Hans Bahlow, the name HÖCK be dervived from either dwelling near a hedge (hecke) or from street trader or huckster (höcke).
Countries of Origin – The surname HÖCK is German.
Spelling Variations – The surname has many variations in the records even within my own family, including HOECK, HÖCKH, HECKH or HECK, and HICKH.
Surname Maps – The following maps illustrate the frequency of the HÖCK surname in Germany and Austria. First, in Germany the surname had 914 entries in 183 different counties with approximately 2,432 people with this name.
Distribution of the surname HÖCK in Germany.
SOURCE: Geogen Surname Mapping database, http://christoph.stoepel.net/geogen/en/Default.aspx, accessed November 27, 2010.
In Austria, the surname had 314 entries in 40 different counties with approximately 832 people with this name.
Distribution of the surname HÖCK in Austria.
SOURCE: Geogen Surname Mapping database, http://christoph.stoepel.net/geogen/en/Default.aspx, accessed November 27, 2010.
Famous Individuals with the Surname – Stefan Höck was a German biathlete who won a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics.
My Family – My HÖCK family comes from Bavaria, and it is the surname of my 4th great-grandmother, Maria Theresia Höck Nigg. Although Maria was born in Bavaria, her father came from Tirol (Tyrol, Austria).
My line of descent is as follows: Simon HECKH > Johann Baptiste Höck (b. unknown in Hopfau, Tirol, m. Gertraudt PAUR on 18 Feb 1765 in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, Bavaria, d. unknown in Pfaffenhofen a.d. Ilm) > Maria Theresia Höck (b. 27 Apr 1769 in Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, Bavaria, m. Karl Nigg on 10 May 1794 in Pfaffenhofen, d. after 1814 in Pfaffenhofen).
I have not yet researched all of the other children of Johann and Gertraudt Höck, but I did find births for Maria Catharina born in 1766, Johann Michael born in 1767, and Maria Magdalena born in 1770.
Johann Baptiste Höck was a zimmerman or carpenter. Pfaffenhofen’s häuserchronik indicates that he was in town by 1765 for his marriage to Gertraudt Paur. In this book, his surname is listed as Hickh (Höckh) and it says he is from the town of Hoepfau in Tirol. His actual marriage record spells his name as Heckh, and says his father, Simon Heckh, is from the town of “Schofau” from Tirol. The handwriting is difficult to decipher. By 1773, Johann Höck is listed in the häuserchronik as the stadtzimmermeister, or the town’s master carpenter. Research on Johann, his family, and his origins is ongoing.
My Research Challenges – While there does not seem to be a town called Hoepfau in the Tyrollean region of Austria, there is a Hopfau in Steiermark. There is also a Hopferau in the Schwaben area of Bavaria in Germany, which is far enough south to have been within the boundaries of Tirol, Austria back at the time my Johann Höck would have been born and moved to Pfaffenhofen. I can not find any town that appears similar to the “Schofau” on the handwritten marriage record. At any rate, more research is needed to uncover these “Austrian” roots!
Links to all posts about my Höck family can be found here.
This post is #10 of an ongoing series about surnames. To see all posts in the series, click here.
This post is #10 of an ongoing series about surnames. To see all posts in the series, click here.
What's Past is Prologue 
Thank you for the research, very informative.
My Hoeck (with German Umlaut) family roots are from the Cologne/Rhineland region. I was born in Cologne and naturalized a US citizen years ago, americanizing the original spelling to Hoeck.
kind regards, Andreas Hoeck
Thank you for the interesting background on the Hock surname! I know very little about my family’s history, except that we came from the Bavaria region and settled in Pennsylvania and then Ohio. It’s quite uncommon here in Ohio, at least!