Hofmann
A German surname meaning “man of the farm/manor,” originally referring to someone living or working on a noble estate.
The #3,857 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,589 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hofmann comes from German hof, meaning a farm, manor, court, or estate, plus Mann, “man.” In medieval usage it could describe a court attendant, estate worker, or the man attached to a landed household. In some traditions it was also used for a tenant or dependent farmer living on a lord’s estate.
History
The name is widespread in German-speaking areas and appears in both Hofmann and the very common Hoffmann spelling. Older scholarship sometimes described it as a courtier or bailiff, but historical explanations also stress the broader sense of a man tied to a manor or farm. It became a common hereditary surname across Germany and later in immigrant communities abroad.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century writers warned not to confuse Hofmann with the unrelated word hoffen, “to hope”; the surname is from hof, not hope.
From the historical record
“hiruz + berg] HOFMANN (Ger.) Courtier; Farm-Bailiff [f. Ger. hof^ farm, manor, court, palace, O.Teut. (incl. O.E.) hof + manri] HOPFNER (Ger.) Hop-Grower [f. Ger. hfipfen, hop(a; Late O.H.Ger. hopjd\ HORST (Ger.) Shrubbery, Thicket [O.H.Ger. hors(\”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Hofmann
- Albert Hofmann (1906–2008)
- August Wilhelm von Hofmann (1818–1892)
- Jonas Hofmann (b. 1992)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.