The name
Hegnauers in the Zürich tax books, 1366–1470
Die Steuerbücher von Stadt und Landschaft Zürich des XIV. und XV. Jahrhunderts, ed. Staatsarchiv des Kantons Zürich (8 vols., Zürich, 1918–1958). This is the printed edition of the Zürich tax registers of 1357–1471 (Staatsarchiv Zürich B III 275–296).
Two volumes are on the Internet Archive, and both were searched in full text on 2026-09-26:
- Vol. I (the city tax books of 1357–1376), with its register: archive.org/details/diesteurbcherv01zruoft.
- Vol. VIII (the register to vols. III–VII, i.e. 1450–1470; Hauser and Schnyder, 1958): archive.org/details/diesteurbcherv08zr.
Vol. II (1401–1450), which contains the 1437 "Hans Hegnoͧwer von Hegnoͧw" (II 500, quoted by the Zürcher Siedlungsnamenbuch), and vols. III–VII themselves were not found online.
The text below is read from the OCR, checked against the index. The citation format is volume page,entry. The page images have not been checked, so read the spellings as given by the editors.
Vol. I: the city of Zürich, 1366–1375
| Year and quarter (Wacht) | Page, entry | As printed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1366, Neumarkt | I 172, no. 194a | "Johans Hegenower" | In the household of "Irmense". Editor's note c: «Hegenower» is written over a struck-out «sin koch» ("his cook"), so he was probably the household's cook. The earliest bearer of the surname found so far. |
| 1366, Rennweg | I 200, no. 200 | "Hegnöwer" | No first name. Listed after "Johs. Hüber". |
| 1372, Linden | I 338, no. 48 | "Cuni Schönöwert / Hegnöwer, sin swester" | The register indexes her as "Hegnowerin, swester Cuni Schonöwerts". |
| 1373, Linden | I 388, no. 48 | "Chunrat Schönöwert / Hegnöwerin, sin swester" | The same woman. |
| 1375, Linden | I 440, no. 48 | "Chuni Schönöwer / Hegnöwerin, sin swester" | The same woman. |
| 1366, Linden | I 157 | "Bela von Hegnöw" | A place descriptor, not the surname. The register lists her under "Hegnau … von, Bela/Beli" (I 158,91 and 221,46). |
| 1371, Niederdorf | I 313, no. 128 | "Socollo von Hegnöw" | A place descriptor. |
| 1375, Auf Dorf | I 426, no. 59 | "Fren Schultheissin von Hegnöw" | A place descriptor. Her own surname is Schultheiss. |
Inference: the "Hegnöwerin" of 1372–75 was the sister of Cuni (Konrad) Schönöwert, so she was probably born a Schönöwert. "Hegnöwerin" would then be her married name, as the wife or widow of a Hegnöwer, or else a byname meaning "the woman from Hegnau". The record does not say which.
Vol. VIII: the register to 1450–1470 (vols. III–VII)
Years by volume: III = 1450–1466 (1455 at about III 70, 1461 at about III 218, 1463 at about III 315, 1464–66 at about III 407); IV = 1467; V = 1468; VI = 1469; VII = 1470. The register's heading reads "Hegnauer, Heggnower, Hegner, Hegnower, Hegnöwer". The editors grouped "Hegner" with Hegnauer (see Klaus below).
| Person, as indexed | References | Household and years |
|---|---|---|
| Hegnöwer (no first name) | III 255 | With his wife; about 1461–63 |
| Elsy | III 319,7 | 1463 |
| Hanns, "von Hirßlanden, in der Kluß" | IV 15; VII 11 | With his wife; 1467 and 1470. Hirslanden, now part of the city of Zürich |
| Hanns, "von Oberhusen" | V 319, 323; VI 289 | With his wife; 1468–69 |
| Hanns, "von Wangen" | IV 227, 342; V 340; VI 307; VII 230 | 1467–70, with his wife; his daughter Annli; his stepson Hanns, who had a wife by 1470; and Rutschman, his (step)son. Wangen lies next to Hegnau |
| Hanns | III 359,209 | 1463 |
| Hans, and "Hans H's wib (Hegnowerin)" | IV 61; V 48,42; VI 61,80; VII 44,53 | His wife was taxed in the city, 1467–70 |
| Heini / Heinrich | III 73,19; 222,19; 320,19,21; IV 53,19; V 46,19; VI 44,19 | 1455–69, in the city. His wife ("Hegnowerin") is listed III 73–VII 42. Also listed: his brother Hans (VII 42), a swiger (parent-in-law, III 73), vogtkind (wards in his guardianship, III 222) and Jacob, his ward and cousin (vogtknab, vetter, III 73, 222; IV 53; V 46) |
| "Honriftly" [garbled OCR; probably a diminutive such as Heinzli or Hensli] | III 74; 223; 321,34 | With his wife; 1455–63 |
| Herman, "von Hegnow" | IV 166; V 158; VI 146; VII 148 | Living at Hegnau 1467–70: these are exactly the Hegnau pages in the place register ("Hegnau, Hegnöw, Hegnow [Gem. Volketswil]: 1467 IV 166, 1468 V 158, 1469 VI 146, 1470 VII 148"). With his wife and his son Wilhelm. H[erman]'s sister, "von Kilch Uster", appears at V 165 |
| Klaus ("Cly") (Hegner), "von Ellgöw" | V 137; VI 132; VII 129 | With his wife, at Elgg, 1468–70. The entry spells the name "Hegner", and the editors indexed it under Hegnauer |
Caution on Klaus. Hegner is also a separate, well-known surname of the Winterthur area, which is next to Elgg. Whether Klaus was a Hegnauer is therefore uncertain. If he was, he is the first sign of the name at Elgg, two centuries before the first Elgg church record of 1659.
Other people at Hegnau in 1467–70 with other surnames include Greth Butzin, Ludwig "von Kilchuster" and Cônrat. This confirms that "von Hegnow" alone is a place descriptor.
What this shows
- The earliest Hegnauers: Johans Hegenower (1366, Neumarkt) and a Hegnöwer (1366, Rennweg) in the city of Zürich, then the Hegnöwerin of 1372–75. The surname was therefore in use in the city by 1366, about two centuries after Hegnau is first recorded (about 1150).
- By 1450–70 there were several Hegnauer households, all within about 10 km of Hegnau: in the city, at Hirslanden, at Oberhusen, at Wangen next to Hegnau, and at Hegnau itself (Herman, his wife and his son Wilhelm).
- The spellings run Hegenower / Hegnöwer / Hegnower / Hegnoͧwer, with the feminine Hegnöwerin / Hegnowerin.
Working notes Next steps
- Find vols. II–VII themselves (the Zentralbibliothek Zürich, HathiTrust or a library copy) and read each entry, with its tax amount and household.
- Check the Staatsarchiv Zürich originals (B III 275–296) for any doubtful reading.
- Klaus "Hegner" of Elgg: compare him with the Hegner family of Winterthur, and with the first Elgg Hegnauers in the parish records (1659).