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Updated June 9, 2019

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.

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