Huff surname meaning
A multi-origin surname: English Hough from a ridge or spur, German Hufo personal-name forms, and Americanized Hoff or Hof.
Confidence: Disputed. More than one origin is plausible, or sources disagree. We show the conflict rather than pick a cute answer.
The short story
Huff brings together several surname histories. In English records it can be a spelling variant of Hough, a topographic name from Old English hōh for a ridge, spur, or projecting piece of land. German Huff may derive from the personal name Hufo, while some American families represent German, Dutch, Norwegian, or Danish Hoff or Hof, associated with a farmstead or manor. Huff, Hough, Hoff, and Huf therefore require record-by-record analysis. The catalog uses place for the English landscape route, with disputed confidence because the same Census spelling merges personal-name and farmstead traditions.
Also seen as: Huff, Hough, Hoff, Huf
- Ancestry surname meaning for Huff citing DAFN 2022 (German Hufo, Hoff/Hof, and English Hough routes)
- Geneanet “Huff” surname entry (regional and spelling variants)
- Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)