Ermentraut (variants include Irmentraut, Ermantraut, Ehrmantraut and Ehrmanntraut) is a rare German surname. Further Americanized variant spellings include ''Ermentrout'', ''Armentrout'', ''Armintrout'', ''Armantrout'' and ''Armontrout''.
History
The ''Dictionary of American Family Names'' derives it from a feminine
German given name ''Irmtraut'', ''Irmentrud'' (equivalent to Anglo-Saxon ''Ermendrud''), originally from the
Germanic name
Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements, by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', for "noble", and ', for "counsel".
However, there are al ...
elements ''
Irmin'' (a Germanic god, son of
Mannus) plus ''
thrud'' "strength". The variant ''Ehrmantraut'' suggests a folk etymological connection to ''
ehr-'' "honour".
The derivation of German surnames from feminine given names is unusual, and at least the name ''Irmtraut'', but possibly also the ''Ermentraut'' varieties, is instead derived from the ''von Irmtraut'' (''von Ermetrode'') family, members of the German lower nobility, first recorded in 1215.
In this case, ''Irmtraut'' is a locational surname, derived from the name of the
Irmtraut, a settlement first recorded in 879 as ''Ermetrode'', as part of
Lahngau (the modern spelling ''Irmtraut'' dates to 1578). The form ''Ermetrode'' suggests that the later spelling in ''-traut'' is a folk etymological connection to the feminine names in ''-trude'' "strength", while the original toponym was formed in ''-rode'', a frequent suffix in Carolingian-era foundations meaning "clearing". The toponym ''Ermetrode'' (''Irmtraut'') is thus from ''ermet'' "poverty" (modern ''
Armut'') and ''
rode Rode may refer to:
People
*Ajmer Rode, Canadian writer
*Bernd Michael Rode (born 1946), Austrian chemistry professor
*Bernhard Rode (1725–1797), German painter
*Ebbe Rode (1910–1998), Danish stage and film actor
*Franc Rode (born 1934), Slove ...
'' "clearing", referring to a patch of poor farmland.
[Ernst Förstemann, ''Altdeutsche Personennamen Ergänzungsband'', Wilhelm Fink Verlag (1968), p. 108.] Members of the von Irmtraut family served as reeves in
Westerburg. The noble family was extinct in the male line in 1741, but
Prince-elector Charles Theodore transferred the name to the ''von Werkamp'' family, because they were descended from the ''von Irmtraut'' in the female line. This family was extinct in 1913.
The presence of the surname in America is recorded for 1739, with the arrival in Philadelphia of one Anna Elizabeth Ermentraudt (née Hain).
Anna Elizabeth Ermentraudt moved to
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...
, Virginia with her second son, Johan Phillip Ermentraudt, in 1752.
Under the spelling ''Armentrout'', her descendants became land-owners in
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is also the county seat of the surrounding Rockingham County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. At the 2 ...
.
[Russell S. Armentrout, ''Armentrout Family History, 1739–1978'', Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society (1980).]
Notable people
People with the surname include:
*
Daniel Ermentrout (1837–1899), American politician
*
Franz Anton Ermeltraut (
de), also ''Ermentraut'' (1717–1767), Baroque painter in Würzburg
*
George Bard Ermentrout (b. 1954), American mathematician
*
Horst Ehrmantraut
Horst Ehrmantraut (born 11 December 1955) is a German former professional football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means ...
(b. 1955), German footballer
*
Jennifer Armintrout (b. 1980), American writer
*
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Jennifer Lynn Armentrout (born June 11, 1980), also known by the pseudonym J. Lynn, is an American writer of contemporary romance, new adult and fantasy. Several of her works have made ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list.
She is considered ...
(b. 1980), American writer
*
Peter B. Armentrout (born 1953), American chemist
Fictional characters:
*
Mike Ehrmantraut
Michael Ehrmantraut () is a fictional character in '' Breaking Bad'' and its spinoff prequel ''Better Call Saul'', portrayed by Jonathan Banks. Mike is a former Philadelphia police officer who works for Gus Fring—and, on occasion, Saul Goodm ...
, introduced in ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'' (2009)
* Stacey Ehrmantraut, character in ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'' and ''
Better Call Saul
''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, '' Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
''
See also
*
Irmtraut
References
{{surname
German-language surnames