Surname Variations

The surnames KOBERNUSS and KUBBERNUSS have been used interchangeably. We've spend quite a bit of time reading German Church documents from the late 1600's to the mid 1800's. During these years spelling was not consistent and these families apparently were often not literate. Spelling within the same parish documents were fairly consistent, but the when a family moved they were often recorded with a different surname. During the early years (1600-1700's) the surname KOBERNUSS was more common in Mecklenburg; in later documents, KUBBERNUSS was used more often. We've found cases where both names were used in different documents for the same family.

Although German records are fairly consistent, US documents reflect a much wider variation due to the language barrier. Here are some of the variations we've encountered.

Cobernus, Cobernuss, Cubberness, Cubbernuss, Kaberness, Kabernuss, Kobernuhs, Kobernus, Kobernusz, Koffarnus, Koffarnuss, Koffernus, Kubberness, Kubbernuhs, Kubernus, Kummernuss, Kupperauss, Kupperness, Kuppernuss.