Family name origins & meanings
- German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) : from Middle High German, Middle Low German scherf, a coin worth half a penny, possibly applied as a nickname for a poor person.
- German : nickname from Middle High German scharpf, scherf ‘sharp’, ‘rough’, ‘eager’.
- German : habitational name from places in the Rhineland named Scherf, or from Scherfede near Warburg.