Frequency: (327)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. Dutch: topographic name for someone who lived by a churchyard, Middle Dutch kerchof, or (with the preposition van) a habitational name, from any of various places named with this word.
2. North German form of Kirchhoff, cognate with 1.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
