An Investigation of the Development of the Name and the Origin of the Kress/Cress Family

Source content from Kress Family History by Karl Friedrich von Frank. Vienna 1930

Since we can follow the history of a family, with the exception of some dynastic houses, only as far as written records have come down to us on the one hand and the use of permanent hereditary family names have been practiced on the other, there is at the beginning of an investigation of an old race (group of people) in most cases the problem of interpreting the name, which can be solved either easily clearly, ambiguously, or not at all, according to the kind, place, and time of its formation.

Since the eleventh century those names became at first hereditary, which were used by the more important higher aristocracy of their times, according to their estates. The lower nobility followed this custom considerably later, and the period of development for permanent names lasted until the Reformation.

Thus the fact that the family Kress in all its different ways of spelling (including Cress) can be documentarily proved to be of a very early time, that is about the middle of the twelveth century (Wurzburg), leads to the conclusion that its bearers were of very good birth even in those times.

It would seem very interesting to find out the real meaning of the name Kress(e).

With reference to the aforementioned classification, I should rank it in the second group; namely, among those, which allow several interpretations as follows:

Possible Interpretations

A Plant

A) The genus of plants of cresses, which shows different varieties and is known scientifically under the collective "Lepidine." and is most frequently found in damp places, near creeks, wells, etc. For that reason, there are a number of places which have taken their name on the one hand from the presence of water, and on the other hand from that of such a plant; as, for instance, Kressenbach, Kressenbrunn, etc.

The formation of names could possibly be explained in this way; namely that the first Kress lived in a place, which was particularly known for the frequent presence of this plant, from which his estate as well as his person derived this name.

A Fish

B) In former times a fish, now called groundling, "Gobio" scientifically, was called in Germany "Kress(e)." It was a characteristic feature of a barbel at its mouth. It would be quite reasonable to suppose that a man, who had so sparse a beard that it looked like the barbel of a "kress," was given the nickname, "the Kress," which was left to him and his issue as a family name.

There are, indeed, bearers of the name Kress, who bore the fish kress in their coat-of-arms. These may be taken as so-called "canting or allusive arms," which surely had their origin in the meaning of the names and not vice versa. We have found analogies for the fact that family names among the most important oldest noble races (families) of Germany have been derived from the names or features of animals. Let me only mention for instance the Barons Gans (Goose) of Pulitz, the Ochs (Ox) of Guntzendorff, the Counts Rindsmaul (Oxmouth), etc.

A Word for Eager One

C) A further linguistic possibility of derivation, which, in my opinion, is most probable, is one from the old native Germanic heathen word "Gradas," which means "the eager one." At first sight there seems to be no similarity between this word and Kress. However, if we trace its development further, we find at first as monosyllabic abbreviations the follow forms: Grad(e), Kratt, Kreth, from which later on the following diminutives were derived: Gratz, Grotz, Gretz, Gretsch, Gress, Cress, Kress.

Various Spelling

Considering the fact that in old times the entry of names in documents and registers was practically never made on the basis of documentary or written manuscripts but according to verbal statements, even the non-professional will understand that just as with other names, the spelling of the name Kress was subject to several changes and shows a number of variations. We know for instance of Crezze, Crezzo, Cresse, Cress, Cres, Crehs and the same forms with the beginning letters G and K, which were practically the same in those times. It even happened that in one and the same document the name was written orthographically different. Neither should the influence be forgotten, which Latin and French exercised upon the orthography of the German language.

Other proposed origins of the Kress/Cress surname

1. Kress may be from a much-altered pet form of the personal name Erasmus, a Latinized form of Greek reasmos “loved”

2. Kress may be from a much-altered pet form of the personal name Christian