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Question: Origin of Hoffmann!?
Help please, I need to find a website and information on the origin of the last name Hoffmann, i need to know about the culture of the areathis name was used when it was first originated so any help would be a big help =]Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Hoffmann
Last name origin & meaning:
German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): status name for a steward on a farm or estate, from German hof(f) ‘manorfarm’, ‘courtyard’ + Mann ‘man’!. Originally, this was a status name for a farmer who owned his own land as opposed to holding it by rent or feudal obligation, but the name soon came to denote the manager or steward of a manor farm, in which sense it is extremely frequent throughout central and eastern Europe; also among Jews, since many Jews held managerial positions on non-Jewish estates!.

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Surname: Hoffmann
Recorded in many forms including Hof, Hofer, Hoff, Hofler, Hoffmann, Hofner, Van den Hoff, Vandenhoff, Vandenhof, Van Hove, Van't Hoff, and others, this is a surname of Germanic and Dutch residential origins!. It derives from the pre 7th century word 'hof' meaning a settlement or farm, and hence a person who worked or lived at such a place!. Not surprisingly as most people in ancient times would have lived at or been associated with farming, the placename and the surname are widely recorded both in Europe and South Africa!. Locational or residential surnames were often 'from' names!. That is to say that they identified a person who had formerly lived at a particular place!. Spelling being at best erratic, and local dialects very thick, lead to the development of many 'sounds like' spellings over the centuries!. In this case we do have some very early surname examples taken from surviving rolls and charters of German cities!. These include: Konrad Hofer of Konstanz in 1272, Burchardus de Hoff also of Konstanz in 1294, and Berthold Hovelech of Mergentheim in 1298!. Later examples taken from Dutch church registers include: Aegidij Vandenhoff, a witness at Limburg, on June 28th 1671, and Baren Hans Van den Hof, who married Maria bergmans at Amsterdam, on October 26th 1708Www@QuestionHome@Com

Hoffmann is mostly a Jewish name, I found couple of websites might be useful to youWww@QuestionHome@Com

HauffmannWww@QuestionHome@Com