Surname Nyhoff - Meaning and Origin

Nyhoff: What does the surname Nyhoff mean?

The last name Nyhoff is a German and Dutch surname, thought to be derived from the Old High German word ‘naz’ meaning ‘near’. The surname was likely used to denote someone who lived in a village close to one’s own. There is also an alternate explanation of the surname, which is derived from a Dutch word meaning ‘abode’, and is likely used in reference to someone who lived in a specific area or settlement.

Throughout Europe, the name has been established for hundreds of years, dating as far back as the 16th century. In recent times, many individuals with this last name have moved to other countries in Europe and abroad. It is currently found in large numbers in the Netherlands, Germany, United States of America, Canada, and Australia, among other places.

Many notable figures have possessed this surname, including the Dutch philologist Albert Nyhoff, the Australian neuroscientist Wilhelmine Nyhoff, the American basketball coach Nicholas Nyhoff, and the American politician Jon Nyhoff.

In the Netherlands, the Nyhoff family is renowned for their fruit and vegetable export business. Whether their ancestors traded vegetables, owned land, or worked in craftsmanship, their name is often associated with success and resilience.

Nyhoff: Where does the name Nyhoff come from?

The last name Nyhoff is most commonly found in the Netherlands and Belgium today. In the Netherlands, the largest concentrations of people with the last name Nyhoff are found in the provinces of Noord-Holland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Friesland, and Overijssel. In Belgium, the last name Nyhoff is most commonly found in the province of Flanders, mainly in the West Flanders region. Other countries where the name Nyhoff is found include France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The Netherlands is the country with the greatest concentration of Nyhoffs. In the Netherlands, the Nyhoff name is derived from the first name “Nijhof”, which is itself derived from the Old Dutch word “nighof”, meaning “enclosed homestead”. The adoption of the name Nyhoff is believed to reflect an ancestor’s occupation as one involved in land management or agriculture.

In the United Kingdom, the name Nyhoff is much less common and is most often found in the county of Leicestershire as well as in London. The first record of the presence of the Nyhoff name in the United Kingdom is found in 1620, when a Peter Nyhoff of Germany was recorded as having arrived in London.

In the United States, the most common concentrations of the name Nyhoff are found in the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and New York. In addition, many people on the West Coast of the US who have the last name Nyhoff are actually descended from Dutch immigrants who arrived in the early 1900s.

Overall, the Nyhoff last name is still widely found in the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Variations of the surname Nyhoff

Nyhoff is a surname of Dutch and Frisian origin. It is generally believed to be of patronymic origin, derived from an ancestor's first name - likely the given name Nico or Nicolaes. Variants of Nyhoff include Naef, Naheff, Naheef, Naefs, Nahefs, Naefes, Naheefs, Naeff, Nahef, Naeves, Neef, Neevs, Neefs, Niief, Neyf, Neyffs, Nyeffs, Neyfs, Neyves, Neve, Neefes, Nyffe, Neefers, Niet, and Niete.

In the Netherlands, variations of the name have been expanded to include Nijhoff, Niehoff, Nijef, Niheff, and Nyheff. In Germany, Nühuf and Nühf have been derived from Nyhoff, while in France, the family name is known as Neuf.

Among the many English variations of the Nyhoff surname are Neif, Niheff, Nihoff, Nihuff, Nuff, Noyff, and Painef. The Irish variant of the name is most likely derived from similar Anglo-Saxon surnames, and is known as Nuff or Noffe.

In Finland, the surname is known as Niehoff, in Norway as Niehoff, and in Denmark as Nielf.

It is possible that due to regional dialects and pronunciation, other variations of the Nyhoff surname exist under slightly different spellings. Such variations can also result from differences in translation from language to language. However, regardless of regional variations, all of these surnames are believed to have a common ancestor, and it can be assumed that they share the same origin.

Famous people with the name Nyhoff

• Linda Nyhoff: Linda Nyhoff is an American mathematician and professor at Calvin University. She has written numerous books on algebra, linear algebra, and probability, as well as published numerous journal articles in those fields.
• Tr Henderen Nyhoff: Tr Henderen Nyhoff is a Dutch international hockey player from Rotterdam and holds the record for most goals scored for the Netherlands national team.
• Rody Nyhoff: Rody Nyhoff is a Dutch lawyer and politician associated with the Liberal Democratic Party. He held several different positions in various Dutch governments in the mid-2000s.
• Evert Nyhoff: Evert Nyhoff is a Dutch professional soccer player, currently playing for RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga.
• Bram Nyhoff: Bram Nyhoff is a Dutch scientist, specializing in the study of the sea. He is the Managing Director of the Institute for Marine Resources & Ecosystem Studies, a part of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.
• Willem Johan Nyhoff: Willem Johan Nyhoff was a Dutch fish biologist who worked for the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, studying the population dynamics and ecology of marine ecosystems.
• Riet Nyhoff-van der Meijden: Riet Nyhoff-van der Meijden was a Dutch feminist, socialist, and educator who taught at Leiden University for more than three decades. She earned her doctorate in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Amsterdam in 1981.
• Jan Anthonie Nyhoff: Jan Anthonie Nyhoff was a stamp collector who specialized in the stamps of the Netherlands and Dutch overseas territories. He wrote several books on the subject and was an active member of his local stamp society.

Other surnames

Nyhof