The only Turnipseed I’ve ever heard of is Tom Turnipseed, a functionary in George Wallace’s 1968 presidential campaign who later became a leading figure in the left wing of the South Carolina Democratic Party.
He’s possibly the same figure that Earl Snake-Hips Tucker is thinking of.
Oh, and according to the link, my last name (also German in origin, also uncommon) is most frequently found in North Dakota, and is almost unheard of outside of Utah (where my grandfather came from and where many of my paternal relatives still live), a few Midwestern states with large German populations, and, strangly, Pennsylvania.
Yep, that’s the one. Both he and his brother David have run for a number of state offices over the years, but I don’t think either one of them ever won one.
R. Michael Turnipseed is the director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
IF this is a translation of a German surname, are there any Germans out there who can provide some German surnames that mean vegetables?
The LDS Family History Library has a monograph, Mehr Samen (More Seed), Story of Rubsamen/Turnipseed Family by Merle E. Turnipseed. The catalog summary says,
I don’t speak German, but I believe that Rubsamen means literally red seed. The German word for turnip is navet.
It’d suck to be Johnny Turnipseed.
Maybe not. This guy is probably worth more than you and me.
As a Turnipseed descendant, I can answer this question. Three Turnipseed brothers emigrated from Turbinthal, Switzerland around 1750. (The name was Rebsamen back then which was anglicized once they got here to the literal translation “Turnip seed”). They settled in SC & later their multitudinous families migrated out across America, mainly AL, GA, AR, TX & ID, but other places as well. Everyone with the Turnipseed name (with exception of the slaves who later adopted the name once they were emancipated) are said & believed to be descended from the three original Turnipseed brothers, Hans, Beat & Rudolph. There are various spellings of the name (Turnipseed, Turnupseed, Turnerseed, Turnipseede, etc.) but they all trace back to the original three. Hope that has answered everyone’s burning questions. I know it’s an unusual name & my mom used to say they all had a heck of a time growing up with it as children, what with being teased with Turnipgreen, Turniphead, Collared green, etc.
Actually, Donald Turnipseed is the only one I’ve heard of (other than in Discworld).
Wow, and just when I was beginning to resign myself to never having a definitive answer on the origins of the Turnipseeds.
Thanks, tejanos4420!
Aka “Big Mad Drongo”, IIRC.
Better than Johnny Durianseed, I’ll clue ya! 
As posted above some years back, the name is Anglicized from Rubsamen/Rebsamen. The family originated in Turbenthal, Switzerland and were colonists in South Carolina, being recorded at least by the 1750s. I am uncertain about Rudolph, but the descendants of Hans and Beat are all related. The ancestral home is in a mountain pass above the village, a typical Swiss farmstead dating back several centuries. I was fortunate to visit it during the mid-1980s.
So, yes, it’s a real name and quite the burden as a child. Pretty cool as an adult. I am from Alabama, and related to the late Brigadier General William (Sonny) Turnipseed, who was noted above. He would have been, in turn, appalled and probably amused at the “tin-general” speculation.
The name is odd, even in the South, where it occurs most frequently. There is speculation that Rhett Butler was to some extent derived from Rhett Turnipseed. Although this is not confirmed and is disputed, don’t tell Rhett IV.
When I give my last name, people quite often ask if I can spell it. “Yes, I can!” I usually answer, adding, “I can count, too!”
Even more fun is introducing myself in my best Beverly Hillbillys accent, “My name is Charlie Turnipseed and I’m from Briar Hill, Alabama!” The reactions are hilarious.
(Yes, I know this is an old thread, just wanted to add some anecdotal material and say hello to my relative above and any others who may stumble upon this.)
The fact that Turnipseed has German origins means it might trace back to a Jewish family. Many Jews in Eastern Europe used patronyms instead of regular surnames. A man named Joseph whose father was named Mendel would be known as Joseph ben Mendel. If Joseph had a son named Isaac, his name would be Isaac ben Joseph. Women in turn used matronyms. So Joseph’s wife Sarah would be Sarah bas Miriam and their daughter Rebecca would be Rebecca bas Sarah. So you had a family with four people, all of who appeared to have different last names.
In the beginning of the 19th century, the Austro-Hungarian government decided it would no longer allow this because it was screwing up their record keeping. Every Jew was required to adopt an official surname. A woman would take her husband’s surname when they married and children would inherit their father’s surname. So government clerks were sent out to register every Jew’s new surname.
Many of the clerks just let the individuals pick their own name and registered it. But some clerks abused their power and required a bribe from the Jews in order to allow them to have the name of their choice. And if the family didn’t pay the bribe they were given an unpleasant surname of the clerk’s choosing. So you’d see names like Gruber (vulgar), Dreyfuss (limping), Billig (cheap), Grob (crude) and sometimes silly names like Gans (goose), Helfand (elephant) or Kalb (cow). Rubsamen (turnipseed) might be an example of this.
…probably had nothing to do with names in Switzerland? None of the immigrants with that name seem to have very typically Jewish first names.
One of the few places I heard the name was in the books of James Loewen, author of Lies my Teacher Told me and similar books. One of the books he wrote was a history textbook, and he aopparently had a legal battle over it with John Turnipseed of the Mississippi State Textbnook Purchasing Board:
http://www.uwec.edu/Activities/programs/forum/jamesLoewen.htm
To all of you my last name is Turnipseed and I am damn proud of it and directly descended from the original brothers who came to America. You might say it would suck to be called Johnny Turnipseed but rather it would be his honor! It was my dad’s cousin who was actually hit by James Dean as he crossed into oncoming traffic to pass an 18 wheeler, so a little respect! My father was very proud of his last name as am I! I took the teasing as a young little boy but I don’t take it now! As far being Jewish, I was confirmed by an Israeli jewish genealogy group to be Jewish but that was years ago and how legitimate it was I’m still not sure about. No one should ever tease others or laugh at someone’s last name because one day karma will call you out and then it’s just not gonna be funny anymore.
The German equivalent (Rübensamen) does exist as a (rare) surname in German. So this could have been a literal translation from a German original - or maybe a nickname that someone just chose to stick with?