Von Hahn

The name von Hahn (German "Hahn" equals the expression of rooster) is a German-Baltic-Russian noble family. Its most famous member was Helena von Hahn, aka Madame Blavatsky.

The origin of the name and the gender is not clear. The first Hahn, with whom this coat of arms is associated, is mentioned in the historical annals as Eckhard the I-st, or "Eggehardus Gallus" in Latin original. In 1230 he is referred to as a councilor and a knight of the Duke Johann the I-st of Mecklenburg. Not much is known about his ancestors, though the family legend points to Franconia as a place of family's origin. Regarded by some researchers as highly improbable on mostly geographical grounds, this theory deserves further investigation due to close connections between the Obotrit's house of Mecklenburg and that of Franconian Hennebergs. The marriage in 1229 (a year before Eckhard Hane appears in chronicales) between the Johann and Luitgart von Henneberg, daughter of Poppo VII. von Henneberg, is of particular interest as it establishes a direct link between these two.

There is a similarity between the Hahn's coat of arms, the old Franconian families of Rothenhahn and Hahnsberg, further reinforced by the 'historical' form of the name of the Öesel's Hahn family: "Hahn genannt Rothenstern". Interesting similarity exists between the Hahn's coat of arms and that of the de Vogüé family of the Aubenas, France.

Finally, it is worth noticing the proximity between the name and the coat of arm of the Hennebergs (literally "Rooster's mountain) and the Hahns, rooster being its main point of reference.

The origin of the Baltic Hahn families deserves further research. Presumed, thought unproven, connection between the Hahn family in Mecklenburg and the families in Courland and Öesel is a conventional explanation of their coat of arms's being identical to one another and virtually identical to that of the descendants of Eckhard Hahn.

The Ösel's Hahn family was accepted into the Nobility Corporation in 1849 with the arms of the Coulrand Hahns. In Russia this part of the family was also incorporated into Russian Nobility with the coat of arms, granted by the Catherine II.

Von Hahns have distinguished themselves through their outstanding service to the sovereigns of Russian, Holy Roman and German Empires, kings and queens of Denmark, Sweden and Poland.

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Wikipedia