State of the Teutonic Order
Younger sons of the family served as knights of the Teutonic Order and acquired property in the Baltic State of the Teutonic Order: In 1410 Godecke Dönhoff (d. before 1444) owned the estate of Allo in Estonia, in 1478 Hermann von Dönhof was granted land in Livonia. In the 16th century, a branch became recognized as "szlachta" (Polish nobility) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.