It is a furious battle over three small letters that Austria’s most famous musical family would surely approve of.

A Swiss vet is taking the Austrian state to task over its ban of the use of the aristocratic prefix “von” (meaning “of”), which was outlawed 100 years ago following the collapse of the Habsburg empire.

Niklaus von Steiger is insisting that his Austrian fiancee, Christel Troll, should be able to adopt the “von” from his surname when they marry, so that she can be recognised as Christel Troll-von Steiger.

But the Austrian state has refused, on the grounds that it must strictly abide by Austria’s Adelsaufhebungsgesetz or nobility abolition law, from 1919, which is viewed is an important expression of the principle of equality that was established after the collapse of the monarchy in 1918, when those of noble stock lost their privileges.

Von Steiger has called on former figures of nobility who have been forced to renounce their “von” titles, hoping he can harness their wrath over what he refers to as “name castration” and persuade them to stand up with him against the Austrian state. A Facebook group launched by Von Steiger is aimed at the 2,000 Austrians who he says still have “von” in their names. Around 50 have so far joined, described by Von Steiger as “nobility, lawyers and sympathisers”.

Existing “vons”, including the Von Trapp family, whose story was immortalised in The Sound of Music, have often been tolerated, until they renew their passports or visit registry offices to get married. Under a recent clampdown, registry offices have rigidly enforced the rule. This is what happened to Christel Troll.

Von Steiger told the Austrian media: “Austria is the only EU country which refuses to recognise the ‘von’ as being an integral part of ordinary untitled names.”

Germany, for instance, has dealt with the issue by simply declaring after the first world war that noble prefixes would be considered part of ordinary names, with no privileges attached.

Von Steiger says he is hoping for a flood of complaints from other Austrians who are in danger of losing their “von” or would like to reclaim it. He would then consider a class action lawsuit.

Last year a man with both German and Austrian citizenship lost his case against the Austrian state after it stripped him of his “von”, which had been in the family since 1782, in a case that went to the country’s highest court. Niklas von Beringe renounced his Austrian citizenship in protest, calling the decision a “massive violation of [his] personal integrity”. He said: “What exactly are they scared of? The return of the monarchy?”

However, the state is known to have granted exception permits, and this is what Von Steiger may be hoping to base his case on. The Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan, who was born in 1908 as a knight in the city of Salzburg, was allowed to continue carrying his “von” under a provision that allows artists to have aliases. But Von Karajan first had to threaten never to appear in Austria again if the state refused to recognise his full name.

In recent years, a tightening of the rules by the interior ministry and the subsequent carrying out of them by the constitutional court has even resulted in the country’s president being placed under investigation. Alexander Van der Bellen faced accusations that the “Van” in his name, is merely the Dutch equivalent of “von”, and that he should therefore drop it. Van der Bellen has so far successfully argued that it is a designation of origin rather than an indication of nobility.

Von Steiger has reportedly sought a meeting with Van der Bellen, hoping to get him behind his campaign.