Origins of the Kohring name

Although it is not possible to determine the exact origins of the surname Kohring it is most likely a Saxon patronymic, formed by adding ing onto the name Kohr. Surnames constucted in this fashion are common throughout the areas of Germany and England inhabited by the Saxons. (see The Origin of Surnames.) The name probably arose in the Teutoburger Wald region between Melle in southern Lower-Saxony and Bünde in the north of Westphalia. Church records from the area show several variants of the name: Kohring, Köhring, Koring and Köring; however, which of these is the definitive spelling is difficult to say.

 

According to church records, most of the Kohring's living in the above area listed their occupation as "heuerling". An occupation which, at least at the turn of the 17th-18th century would have enabled them to earn a modest living.