Surname Looff - Meaning and Origin
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Looff: What does the surname Looff mean?
The last name Looff is believed to have originated in northern Germany, possibly in the region of Westphalia. The name is derived from the German word loff, meaning "water meadow," and was most likely an occupational surname for someone who owned or worked on a meadow with a natural water feature. This meadow could have been anywhere from a shallow river, to a lush wetlands, or a lake.
The Looff family moved to the Netherlands and the name has commonly been found in that region over the last few centuries. It is possible that some members of the Looff family moved to more distant parts of Europe or even to the Americas.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, many Looffs resided in the German states of Prussia and Pomerania. Records from the mid-19th century show that the Looff family had a large presence in the Dutch province of Friesland, and may even have originated there.
The Looff family name continues to exist to this day in Germany and the Netherlands, with some descendants having moved to the United States, Canada, and Australia. Members of the Looff family often take professional careers in fields ranging from business and law to medicine, engineering, and the arts. They are known for having an entrepreneurial spirit and for a strong commitment to their communities.
Order DNA origin analysisLooff: Where does the name Looff come from?
The last name Looff is primarily associated with countries of northern Europe, particularly Germany, and is most commonly found today in the Netherlands and Germany, where it is fairly widespread. In Germany it is a variant spelling of the more typical "Lohff" surname, while in the Netherlands it is more often found with the alternate spellings "Loop" or "Loup". It is also seen throughout Scandinavia, as well as in other countries with large populations of German or Dutch immigrants, such as the United States, Canada, and South Africa. It has also been recorded in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
The ancestral home of the Looff surname is Westphalia, a medieval region and former province of Germany, which is located in the northwestern part of the country and borders the Netherlands to the west. Census records from Germany and the Netherlands indicate that the name has been widespread in both countries since at least the eighteenth century. As with many other surnames, the origin of the last name Looff can be traced back to a single family. Before it became a permanent surname, it was an inherited name, derived from the landed estate that the family owned in Westphalia. The estate was first mentioned in records from around the year 1500.
The name Looff is still in use today, with an estimated number of about 22,000 bearers in the Netherlands and 9,500 in Germany. Global distribution maps demonstrate that the name is found most prominently in the Netherlands and Germany, but is also common in other countries with large populations of German or Dutch immigrants, such as the United States, Canada, and South Africa.
Variations of the surname Looff
The surnames Looff, Louff, Loff, Louf, Loffer, Lauff, Lauffe, Laiff, Laf, Lafe, Lafleur, Lowff, Lowe, Lueff, Louv, Louwer, Lous, Lauwer, Laud, Louague, Lavée, Lavergne, Lavigny, Lavington, Laugh, Laub, Laubscher, Lauffer, Loeffel and Löffel are all variants of the same origin and are variations of the same surname, Looff.
The most common variation of the surname is Looff, but this can also be spelled as Louff, which is the short form of this surname. It is likely that it originated from some kind of Dutch or Germanic origin, given its prefixes of ‘Lau’ and 'Loe'. The variant Loeffel is a German spelling version of this surname.
The surname was likely taken from a person or family named Marcel or Matthias de L'Of, which is a French surname meaning ‘from the canton’. A canton in this context was a division of a county in feudal times, and the name was derived from the person’s place of origin.
Other variants of the surname may come from other places, such as England, where it could have been taken from the Old English word ‘Lauf’, which means ‘a wild place’. This could explain the surnames Laud, Laubscher, and Lauffer.
The English form of the surname, Lowe, could have been taken from the Middle English prefix of ‘lowe’, which referred to someone with a low stature. In addition, the Germanic lav, which means ‘law’ or ‘order’, could have been the inspiration for the surnames Laiff and Lafleur.
Overall, the surname Looff has many variants and spellings across Europe, all likely deriving from the same source. From the origins of plantation owners to low stature, the surname of Looff is a well-travelled last name that has been adapted and changed through many places and cultures.
Famous people with the name Looff
- Charles Looff: an American carousel carver and amusement ride manufacturer.
- J. Arthur Looff: an American carousel carver and amusement ride manufacturer, and founder of the Looff Amusement Company.
- August Looff: an American carousel carver and amusement ride manufacturer, and son of J. Arthur and grandson of Charles.
- William Looff: an American carousel carver, and son of J. Arthur and grandson of Charles.
- Tim Looff: an American carousel carver and ride manufacturer, and son of August.
- Grant Looff: an American carousel carver, and great-grandson of Charles.
- Brenda Looff: an American carousel carver, and granddaughter of J. Arthur.
- Chris Looff: an American television producer and writer.
- George Looff: an American animator and cartoonist.
- Tjebbe van Tijen (nee Looff): a Dutch photographer and author.