This German surname of MENTZER is a personal name and is undoubtedly of very ancient origin.
The Ist century leader of the Cherusci recorded by the Latin historian Tacitus as ARMINIUS has been claimed as the first known bearer. The surname is also borne by Ashkenazic Jews, probably as an adoption of the German surname. Other spellings include MENTZE, MENTZMAN, MENTZER and HERMES to name but a few.
A notable member of the name was Georg HERMES (1775-1831) the German Roman Catholic theologian, born in Dreyerwalde in Westphalia. He became theoological professor at Munster in 1807 and in 1819 at Bonn. The HERMESIAN method became influential in the Rhineland, but his doctrines were condemned by a papal brief in 1835 as heretical, and his followers were deprived of their professorships. Surnames derived from placenames are divided into two broad categories; topographic names and habitation names.
Topographic names are derived from general descriptive references to someone who lived near a physical feature such as an oak tree, a hill, a stream or a church.
Habitation names are derived from pre-existing names denoting towns, villages and farmsteads.
Other classes of local names include those derived from the names of rivers, individual houses with signs on them, regions and whole countries. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity.
As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe. German or Teutonic heraldry extended its sphere of influence over central Europe and spread into Scandinavia. It is most notable for its design and treatment of crests, most of which reflect the arms in the charge or tinctures (colours) or both, which is unknown in British heraldry. Teutonic Europe assembled many arms on a single shield, each bearing its corresponding crest on a helmet.