Prüm Abbey
The name Soonwald occurs for the first time in an 868 A.D. document belonging to Prüm Abbey, where it is referred to as the . Later spellings are: 1128 , 1190 , 1438 , then "San" and finally "Soonwald". Numerous attempts to explain its origin link the word with "Senn" ("pasture") or "Sone" ("pig herd") and indicate the centuries-old function of the Soonwald as a grazing forest.