I have always been curious as to what my last name meant and where it originated. With help from ancestry.com and some other resources I managed to put together a small snap shot of my ancestry.
Dehnert the name is “a reduced form of the personal name Degenhar(d)t”. Then researching Degenhardt I learned that it was “German: from a popular personal name Degenhar(d)t, composed of Old High German degan ‘young warrior’, ‘vassal’ + hart ‘strong’.” I had always known I was from German descent but I didn’t know that the name Dehnert held a cool meaning like that.
Most of the Dehnert’s that immigrated to the U.S. were from Germany with a few exceptions. By 1880 Dehnert families had made it as far west as Missouri. In 1920 there were 2-4 Dehnert families in Montana and those same families are probably the ones that eventually moved to Washington.
I have extended Dehnert family in Washington but have never met them. If I remember correctly my grandfather is from the Washington Dehnert families and eventually made it to California. My dad was the only son in his family and he probably accounts for the only Dehnert family in California.
If any other Dehnert’s come across this page and want to contribute or talk about creating a Dehnert community web site leave a comment with your contact information or email me at joeydehnertblog@gmail.com.