The Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels mentions another family of the same name, whose ancestor was Hans Gottlob Greben (1724-1777), a lieutenant under the Kingdom of Poland, the Electorate of Saxony and the Kingdom of Prussia. His son Friedrich Wilhelm (1774-1839) was a Prussian lieutenant general, and he and his descendants used the name and coat of arms of von der Groeben without objection.
History
Origins
The first known mention of the family is from records dated to 29 November 1140 with Luiderus de Grebene. Gribehne (also Grubene, Grobene, Cyprene, Grebene or Gröben), the probable ancestral seat, is an abandoned village near Calbe in the Salzlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt.
It is rumoured that the family originally came from the Duchy of Saxony. Family members possibly came to Brandenburg in 927 with King Henry. There are also said to the 12 old Saxonian noble families who elected from amongst themselves the Vierherren of the Kingdom.
The origins of the name Groeben are not known. Possibly it comes from the Slavic Grob'n meaning trench, grave or dam. In this case the land-owning family von Gröben would have taken the name of its possession, the village of Gröben, as was the usual practice.
Georg Dietrich von der Groeben (1725–1794), Prussian lieutenant general, military writer and head of the military department in the Directorate-General
