Frequency: (217)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. German: distinguishing epithet for the owner or tenant of a new farm or manor, standardized from Middle Low German nie ‘new’ + hof ‘farmstead’, ‘manor farm’ or a habitational name from any of several places so named, for example in Saxony and Thuringia. Compare Niehoff.
2. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Neuhof ‘new yard’.
GIVEN NAMES: German 6%; Jewish 4%. Lorenz (3), Kurt; Mayer (2), Chaim, Chanie.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
