Körmendy in the

Hungarian language Hungarian, or Magyar (, ), is an Ugric language of the Uralic language family spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighboring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Out ...

, due to its form and implied meaning, is understood to be a

family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

. Literally it means: a person or family of or originating or associated with the place called

Körmend Körmend ( Prekmurje Slovene: ''Karmadén,'' ) is a town in Vas County, Western Hungary. Places of interest The town is especially well known for its castle which used to belong to the Batthyány family, one of the most important aristocrat famili ...

, now one of the smaller townships in Western

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, near the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n border. It is evident in some public records that the same family name may have been spelled "Körmendi" as compared to "Körmendy". It is generally understood in the Hungarian tradition that the use of the form "Körmendy" is an entitlement of some sort due to the formerly official title of

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

, received as granted in a traditional European meaning and process. The "Körmendi" name, form or usage, may mean in some cases, simply a spelling variation due to whatever reasons, but in some other cases "Körmendi" may be just an adopted name, not entitled to the "Körmendy" form of spelling. There seem to exist many people in the world with these

family names In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

, however to this writer at this point it may be highly speculative to guess how many of these may be related at any distance, or whether there are one or more greater

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

covered by all these names. On the other hand, as an example, this writer has information of a document and public record granting the

title to a "Körmendy Márton" and his descendants (and the same to a companion by a different name) by "King Ferdinánd I" of

, in the year 1549.Nyitra Vármegye Levéltár, VI. 385, 80/1905. Lt. Sz. – i.e. Nyitra Vármegye Levéltár (archives of Nyitra Vármegye, a territory formerly part of the

Hungarian Kingdom The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, now part of modern

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

) This above cited record also refers to an official transcript of another record of the same subject, originating in "Szentmarja" of Bács Vármegye, formerly part of the

, (now called Szabadka in Hungarian, and is now part of modern

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

). This later transcript was sent to the

Hungarian National Museum The Hungarian National Museum (, ) was founded in 1802 and is the national museum for the history, art, and archaeology of Hungary, including areas not within Hungary's modern borders, such as Transylvania; it is separate to the collection of int ...

and is deposited under "Aldányi Antal, LXI 1549 január 5." The above cited granting of

to said "Körmendy Márton" and his descendants is due to, according to the contents of the cited document(s), a certain incident of his heroic behavior during the Hungarian defensive wars against the Turkish invaders. The said heroic act occurred in a battle at the Hungarian town

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

, rescuing some Christians from the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

. Along with the title of

this "Körmendy Márton" and his descendants were granted the right to use a certain coat of arms, described in detail within the above said letter of grant of

(''nemeslevél'' in Hungarian). These records at least provide a glimpse into the background and history connected with the name(s) Körmendy.

People

* John Kormendy, American astronomer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kormendy Surnames