The Bernays family has its recent origins in the town of Groß-Gerau in the German state of Hesse, where the patriarch of the family, Rabbiner Beer Neustädtel (also known as Baer Lazarus) lived with his family. Two of his sons, Isaac, born in 1742 and Jacob, born in 1747 went on to establish very influential and well known dynasties in Europe, England, USA and Australia. During the French occupation of the Mainz region in the 1800s, all families were required under the Code of Napoleon to register an identifiable family name and in doing so, to gain considerable freedoms including ability to attend university. It was at that time that the family registered the name "Bernays" in lieu of Beer or Baer.