The surname Gurfinkel was used by Jewish families in parts of the Russian Empire during the 19th century. It was most widely used in the cities of Brest, Rovno, Kremenets, Novograd, Kovel', Ostrog, Ol'gopol', Ushitsa, Letichev, Yampol', Balta, Gajsin, Bendery, and Bel'tsy.
The name derives from the word gurfinkl, which in the southeastern dialect of Yiddish means carbuncle.