Frequency: (237)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. English (of Norman origin): occupational name for a goldsmith, from Anglo-Norman French orfrer, Old French orfevre, Latin aurifaber, from aurum ‘gold’ + faber ‘maker’. Compare French Fèvre (see Lefevre).
2. German: variant of Off.
3. Jewish: unexplained.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
