Scharf
A German surname meaning “sharp” or “clever,” sometimes also linked to a nickname for a cormorant.
The #6,864 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 62,996 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally traced to German scharf, meaning “sharp,” “keen,” or “acute,” from an older Germanic adjective also seen in Old High German scarf and related Old English forms. As a family name, it most likely began as a nickname for someone sharp-minded, brisk, or cutting in manner. Some writers also suggest a second possible nickname source from a dialect word for “cormorant,” an image used for a dark, keen-looking person.
History
The name is well attested in medieval Germanic records and appears in English sources as an immigrant or borrowed surname form as well. Historical surname dictionaries often group Scharf with English Sharp and related forms, reflecting the same underlying Germanic root. In some local traditions, especially in the north of Britain, it may also have been influenced by the nickname for a cormorant. The surname remains most strongly associated with German-speaking areas.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical line of explanation connects the surname to a nickname for a cormorant, a seabird still called “the scarf” in parts of Shetland.
From the historical record
“p.n.; N.sker-, A.S. scear (share) Scarfe. A.S. Sceorf; G., D., Dch. Scharf ; a p.n. (sharp). See Sharpen Scarles. See Scarll Scarlett. From Escarlat ; a loc.”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)