Where did the name Varnbühler come from? Most likely it originated from the settlement or farm estate named Farnbühl near St. Gallen in northeastern Switzerland. As a Swiss genealogist explained:
Location names were created before surnames. When someone moved to a different village or farm, he would be called a "(place name)er" -- at a later stage this would often become a surname. So when Hans from the Farnbühl farm would go "downtown" he would be called Hans from Farnbühl -- or Hans Farnbühler -- to differentiate him from other Hanses. F's and V's were interchangable in the language of the time. Thus: Hans Varnbühler.
Roughly translated, the name means Fern Hill (Farn = fern, Bühl = hill).
There are 2 Farnbühls near St. Gallen (and a third not very far away near the town of Gais), but the most likely place that the Varnbühlers came from is the one shown (spelled differently) as Farnböhl (near Störgel) on the map. This Farnböhl is spelled Farnbühl on several other maps, many of them very detailed ones dating from the 1800's. (The red lines are recommended walking routes)