Process: Angerbauer

The 1911 Census for Ontario reveals six matches for Angerbauer in Kincardine, in the Bruce North District. The head of the household is listed as Mary Angerbauer (b. 1871) with her five daughters: Francis (b. 1891), Ruth (b. 1897), Muriel (b.1903), Cathernene (b. 1904) and Kenennena (b. 1910).

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Most German surnames are derived from occupations, colors or locations while others describe the characteristics of a person. Angerbauer is a composite surname: "Bauer" is a German status name for a peasant or a nickname for a neighbor or fellow citizen, while "Anger" is a French variation of the English (of Norman origin) and French patronymnic name "Ainger", itself originating from the Germanic given name "Ansger". Composed of the elements ans (god) and ger/gar (spear), Ansger has English variations (Angier, Anger, Angear and Aunger) as well as French versions (Anger, Anquier and Ansquer).

In the glossary of Les noms de lieux en France (Commission de toponomie, 2006), "Anger" is described as a grazing ground or pasture with the name itself originating in Alsace, a region in eastern France which has passed between French and German control many times during its history. In this same vein, the Old Saxon word "angar" means "grasslands", while the Swedish "äng" means "meadow". The Angerbauer surname is also present in Sweden because of a German influx that is centuries old.

The name "Ångermanland" — a historical province or landskap in the north of Sweden — is said to come from the Old Norse "anger", which means "deep fjord" and refers to the deep mouth of the river Ångermanälven. However, the Old Norse "angr" has also been described as "sorrow or grief" [1220-1250] in A history of foreign words in English by Mary S. Serjeantson (1961, Barnes & Noble, NY).