Hafner
A German occupational surname meaning “potter” or “one who makes clay vessels.”
The #6,532 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 59,523 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hafner comes from German Hafner, the traditional word for a potter, especially one who made earthenware vessels and stove tiles. The word is related to an older term for a pot or vessel and was used as a craft-name before becoming a hereditary surname. In surname use, it is best understood as an occupational label: the ancestor was likely a potter or related ceramic worker.
History
The name is especially associated with southern German-speaking areas, where craft surnames of this type are common. Historical surname dictionaries also note the related form Hefner as a variant or parallel occupational name in some regions. In immigrant communities, especially in North America, Hafner has remained recognizably German in form and pronunciation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older German usage, Hafner could specifically mean a maker of pots and sometimes stove tiles, not just a generic “potter.”
From the historical record
“die Leie. Manches Handwerk hat infolgedessen die verschiedensten Be- zeichnungen; so heißen die Schlächter: Fleischhauer, Fleischhacker^ Fleischer, Metxger, Knochenhaiier, Beinhauer; die Töpfer: Hafner, Potter ^ 1) Zum Teil mögen sie auch von Wirtshausschildern entlehnt sein. 2) Aus älterer Zeit (niederdeutsch)…”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen