Recorded in over one hundred spellings throughout Europe, this is a famous surname which is of Germanic origins. It derives from the pre 7th century 'kuoni-rad' which loosely translates as 'brave - counsel.' This was 'fused' to create the medieval personal namesand later surnames Conrad and Konrad, recorded in England, France and Germany, as well as Korda, Kordas, Kordes, Kordt, Kunrad, Kuhndert, Kuhnt, and Kurth recorded mainly in Austria, Germany, Hungary, and Switzerland.To these has to be added other forms such as Koenraad (Czech), Kondrat (Russia), Corradi (Italian), Cunradi (Tuscany), diminutives such as Kienzle, Kunz, Kunzel, patronymics Kurten, Coners, Conerding, Conradsen, Coenraets, and many, many, more. In origin the name is one of a large group of similar Germanic names that include popular forms such as Albert, Frederick, and Willhelm. All have similar meanings associated with strength of both mind and body, victory and courage. It may be that all relate to wishful thinking or hope for the future, as the development of these names coincided with the Dark Ages. This was a period of near total chaos and seemingly endless war and invasion throughout Europe, following the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century. The first of what might loosely be called a hereditary surname recording may be that of Conrad Conradi. This means Conrad, the son of Little Conrad, and appears in the charters of the German town of Elsabe in the year 1297. Rudolf Kunzelman was recorded in Ulm, Switzerland, in 1337, and Johan Kords at Havelburg, Germany, in 1490.

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