The names Guckenbiehl, Guggenbühl etc. in France

The letter "ü" does not exist in French, but in many French words, the "u" sounds like the "ü" in Guggenbühl. Hence in French, the name Guggenbühl became Guggenbuhl. If one searches for that name in french telephone directories, then most of the records returned are found in the departements Bas Rhin, Haut Rhin, Meurthe et Moselle and Moselle.

According to Jean-Louis Guggenbuhl there were various "Guggs" that came from Switzerland and settled down in Alsace. Some of their descendants travelled on to other parts of France and even to Algeria or to the United States. On his website he presents informations about these families.

One of these "Guggs" was Johann Guggenbühl, According to [Seyler et al. 1975], p. 65, he was born in Meilen (Swiss canton Zürich) on June 19^th as son of Kaspar Guggenbühl and his wife Elisabeth, born Wunderly. As a cobbler journeyman he came to the Alsatian village Goxweiler where he settled down in 1806 and married Katharina Grucker. When his sons Johann and Georg Jacob came to age in 1832 and 1833 resp., they became citizens of Goxweiler. This line of the family believed, that their name was derived from a Swiss hill where cuckoos lived. Hence they bear a family crest that shows a cuckoo with spreaded wings on a stylized hill with three summits and the Swiss cross (see adjoining figure).^[1]

External Links:

• Jean-Louis Guggenbuhl: La généalogie de la famille GUGGENBUHL

1. ↑ For people knowing heraldics as well as German: [Seyler et al. 1975], p. 65, describes that family crest as:

   Über blauem Dreiberg, mit dem Schweizer Kreuz belegt, in Gelb ein naturfarbener Kuckuck mit ausgebreiteten Flügeln. Helm: Blaugrau bewulstet mit offenem, blau-grau übereck geteiltem Flug. Decken: blaugrau.