Essen or von Essen is the surname of a Baltic German and Swedish noble family.[1]
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The first known ancestor was Thomas Von Essen (d. 1615-1627) who was from Lääne län in Estonia. His son Alexander von Essen received Swedish nobility, but was not introduced in the Swedish House of Nobility. His descendants, Reinhold Wilhelm von Essen (1669–1732) and Hans Henrik von Essen (1674–1729), were elevated to Baron in 1717 and 1719 with the number 158.
Another notable family member was Hans Henric von Essen, Swedish field marshal. Another was Ivan Essen(1759–1813), a Russian lieutenant general and military governor of Riga. Count Nikolai Essen hailed from the Livonian branch of the family, but not Count Peter Kirillovich Essen who was born a commoner.
This article is fully or partially based on material from Nordisk familjebok, 1904-1926.