Herre

Herre is a term with multiple uses in Germanic-language contexts and appears as a proper noun in some cases. In Norwegian and Danish, the word historically means "master" or "lord" and has functioned as an honorific for men of status. In modern texts it is more often encountered in historical or regional writings, where it may appear in phrases or compound forms such as herregård, typically rendered as “manor house” in English. The term can thus reflect social rank, ownership, or historical address patterns rather than everyday contemporary usage.

As a surname and as a place name, Herre occurs in various European contexts. As a surname, it appears in parts of Scandinavia and Germanic-language regions, with lineages that may trace back to a historical title or a personal name. As a toponym, the element can appear in geographic names across Scandinavia and adjacent areas, often reflecting historical ownership, settlement, or landholding patterns associated with a figure described by the term or its variants.

Variants and cognates include forms found in related languages, such as Herr or Härre, depending on spelling conventions and regional phonology. In scholarly and genealogical works, Herre is typically treated as a proper noun when referring to a person or place, and as a linguistic item when discussing its meaning as a title or social term.

Because of its cross-linguistic presence, the interpretation of Herre depends on context, and readers may encounter it with different senses in literature, records, or genealogical sources. Disambiguation is common when locating specific individuals, places, or historical references bearing the name.