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Origin | |
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Word/name | German |
Region of origin | Germany |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Zepelin, Zeppelin (without von) |
The surname Zeppelin first appeared in a German document dated September 1286, indicating an origin in the town of Zepelin, which is now a municipality in the district of Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
In the Middle Ages, to be called von Zeppelin could mean simply "from Zeppelin". However, in later centuries the word "von" was added only as a nobiliary particle, indicating an ancestor who had been ennobled.
Zeppelin, originally a Slavic village spelled Cepelin [tsepelin], is named after the Cep, an ancient Slavic agricultural tool