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The surname HESSE is derived from the Germanic tribe of the Hessians. The distinguished surname HESSE has been traced to Austria, whose territory was occupied by the Celts and then the Romans. In early history the Vandals, Goths, Huns, and Alemans swept into this region from the east and from the north. In the 9th century, the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne made this territory and eastern bulwark against the Hungarian and Slavic invasions. Otto the Great finally defeated the Hungarian forces in 1955, and Austria, a word meaning "Kingdom of the East," became a Bavarian protectorate.
Research into the history of this name brings us back to Austria, Where the name became noted for its many branched of the region, each house acquiring a status and influence which was envied by the princes of the region. In their later history the name became power unto themselves and were elevated to the ranks of nobility as they grew into this most influential family.
Throughout history surnames have gone through changes in spelling, even between generations. Often a name was recorded by a scribe simply by its sound, thus changing the names written form. If the name change had been recorded in contracts of legal proceedings, this spelling often became a part of standard usage. Depending on the region, a name's spelling may vary quite considerably. Among such variations of the name are Hess, Hesse, Esse, Hessel, Hesselin, Hesso, Hesler, Hesner, to name a few.
After 1272, the house of Habsburg rose to power and began its territorial expansion, not by going to war, but by going to the altar; By marrying into various influential houses, the Habsburgs acquired Tyrol, the Krain region, Styria, Trieste, and the Alemanian Voralberg. They also gained the Netherlands from the Dukes of Burgundy in 1482, and married into the Spanish royal family. Charles V left his Austrian territories to his brother Ferdinand I, who acquired Hungary and Bohemia in 1526. Austria became the Catholic center of the Counter-Reformation, and despite Ferdinand's expanding power, the Turks laid siege to Vienna in 1529.