Stauffer
A German surname probably meaning “someone from the Stauf region” or “the one who lived by a steep slope.”
The #2,307 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,515 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Stauffer is a German surname with more than one plausible source. It is often linked to Stauf or Staufen, a place-name in southern Germany, so the surname can mean someone who came from that area. It may also be connected with Middle High German words for a steep hill or be derived from a similar regional name, giving it a broadly locational sense.
History
The name appears in German-speaking areas and was carried to North America by immigrants, where it is now established in the United States. The historic mention of a settler named Stauffer giving his name to Staufferstown shows how the surname could become attached to place-names in Pennsylvania and other German-American communities.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Staufferstown, Pennsylvania was named after a man with this surname, showing how a family name could become a town name on the American frontier.
From the historical record
“Ich; Weilen in Midler stown kein hinlanglicher Raum fiir uns war, nach Staufferstown zuriick, wo wir commodere quartiere fanden. Diese Stadt war von einem Deutschen Nahmens Stauffer auf eine regulaire Art angeleget fiir 15 Jahren und schon zu 150 Hauser angewachseu. 54 Tagebuch des Capt. Wiederholdt.”
— Studies in Pennsylvania German Family Names