608 Global FENECH Family Members

FENECH Family History

This rare surname is of German origin and is a variant form of the name Fenck, which has two possible explanations, the first being that it is a metonymic occupational name for a millet farmer, derived from the Middle High German "ven(i)ch", itself from the Latin "panicum", which literally means panic grass. However it may also be a topographical name for a person who lived by a patch of land where this crop was grown. There has been some confusion with the Middle German "fenich", a byform of "fenichel", the modern German "fenchel", meaning fennel, a popular aromatic herb in the Middle Ages, so it is likely that some names have this word as their source.