Our earliest, documented relative is Michael "Miska" Bakondi. He had two sons, James "Imre" and Josef and one daughter Teri. His wife was Rosa (maiden name Rosa Mata). They lived in Heves County, Hungary in the small town of Felso Tarkany. James was the first of the two brothers to come to the United States and arrived in 1923 at Ellis Island. The Bakondi's family originally come from Duna-Tisza and went to Felnémet, they lived and they worked in the wine vinyards. Afterwards they went to Felsőtárkány.

James 'Imre' Bakondi came with the idea of seeing if the United States was the kind of place he wanted to bring up a family. He came to the United States unable to speak English, but used his strong craftsman abilities to make cabinets for homes and offices. After wisely saving his money, he could afford transportation to pay for the rest of his family to come to the United States.

There are 127 Hungarian families in Hungary and over 30 in the United States. These are all spelled Bakondi, as opposed to the several hundred names that match the variations of the Bakondi spelling. A close comparison would be if someone spelled their name smith, vs smithe, vs smythe, all related, but not necessarily by blood lines. There are a number of Bakondi families in the United States today, but relationship has been difficult to prove, as James Bakondi had a brother named Josef, and very little is known about him. Children of Josef Bakondi and their children would be related to us, but where and who they are remains a mystery today.

In modern day Hungary, occupations vary greatly. There are several notable Hungarian's including Gyorgy Bakondi, Attorney-at-law, and Edina Bakondi, research chemist.

Of most importance is the Bakondi Winery in Hungary, owned and operated by Endre Bakondi whose residence is in Eger, Hungary, which is in close proximity to Felso Tarkany. The Bakondi Winery produces several types of Hungarian Wine, but of most importance is Egri Bikaver Bulls Blood. This wine is the only wine in the world that was named after a historical event. Today the story of the naming of the wine is required reading in Hungarian schools. There are several Bulls Blood Items relating to the wine, one of which includes the Hungarian issued stamp. Although several companies make and distribute this wine in the United States, the wine made by the Bakondi Winery is the only one where the owner and workers take personal care in the production of each bottle as opposed to the mass producers. Bulls Blood wine made by the Bakondi Winery can be purchased in several locations in the US via the internet.

In the music industry, Holly is a well known Harpist and Vocalist in California. Holly is granddaughter of Rozalia Bakondi.

In the sports world, George Bakondi, was the senior mechanic of a world record winning top fuel dragster.

There are many variations of the Bakondi name. Typical examples are; Bakony, Bakonde, Bakondy and Bakondie. After checking with Hungarian Psychologist, Gabor Bakondi, it was discovered that the name Bakondi, means "From the Bakond", which was the name of a village called Bakond, which was probably ruined due to the attack of the Mongols in the 13th Century, or during the Turkish occupation in the 16th century.

It is believed that the earliest Bakondi families came to Hungary from France in the 13th century, but there is no evidence to support this. It is believed that "Bakondi" is a derivative of the name vaconde who was a french mapmaker who married an Hungarian girl and changed the name to more closely resemble a Hungarian name. This has yet to be proved one way or the other. Bakondi relatives come from a strong Roman Catholic background, but as is common, many have changed their religion to western religions.

In Hungary today, as in the past, Hungarians address each other by last name first. For example, you would address Michael Bakondi as Bakondi Michael. In addition, Hungarians don't celebrate birthdays the same as in the United States, instead you would celebrate your "name day". Finding your name on the Hungarian calendar would provide you with your name day. There is a form of generic names for people whose names are not on the calendar. There are several names for each day of the year listed on the calendar.

Click here to go to the Bakondis in Europe page.

Of note, are the well known actors, inventors, and sport figures who, although are not related to the Bakondi family. Well known names include the founder of Fox Theaters and 20th Century Fox Studios. In the computer industry, the inventor of the Pentium Processor is probably the most well known.

Click here to go to the Notable Hungarians page.

The Bakond mountains play an important part of the Bakondi name. However, unexplained is the strange naming of region in the Republic of the Congo called Bakondi. The area is almost 350,000 sq. kilometers and has a population of 2,988.040. The area was founded by the French and this may have a tie in to the original thought that the name was French in origin.