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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • German, French, Hungarian (Sáfrán), and Jewish (Ashkenazic) : from Middle High German saffrān, Old French safran ‘saffron’, Hungarian sáfrány, German Safran ‘saffron’, a bright yellow spice and colorant derived from the stigmas of a crocus, hence a metonymic occupational name for a spicer or a nickname for someone with reddish yellow hair. The word is ultimately derived from Arabic za‛farān. The Jewish name is mainly ornamental.
  • Americanized spelling of Polish Szafran, which has the same origin as 1.

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