Westphal
A German surname meaning “someone from Westphalia.”
The #4,953 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 43,479 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Westphal is a German surname built from the regional name Westphalia, with the ending -phal reflecting an older or shortened form of the place-name in surname use. In origin, it identified a person as a native of Westphalia in northwestern Germany. The name is therefore an ethnic or regional surname rather than an occupational one.
History
19th-century surname dictionaries explicitly gloss Westphal as “a native of Westphalia” or simply “from Westphalia.” Related forms such as Westphaling and Westphale also appear in older reference works. The surname spread beyond Germany through migration, so it is now found in English-speaking countries as well.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older surname books treated Westphal as a shorthand label for a person from Westphalia, much as “English” or “French” surnames could mark regional origin.
From the historical record
“Forest, co. Hants. WESTPHAL. A native of Westphalia, in Germany. WESTPHALING. The same as West- phal. WESTRON. The same as Western. WESTROPP. The family claim from John Westropp, son and heir of Edward Westropp, temp. King John.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom