The Neef Family Name

Long before computers fixed spellings, Neef and Neff were used side by side. Read literally, Neef points to “Nephew, kinsman”.

Spelling and variants

Neef is listed among the recognised spellings of Neff. Before spelling was standardised, one family could appear under several forms.

Neef ranked 48,628 in the 2010 US Census, with 434 people answering to the name. French birth records list 216 children named Neef between 1891 and 2000. There were 19 such births in the 1890s and 19 in the 1990s.

Heraldry and the Neef name

Arms linked to Neff and its spellings were granted to individual families; our heraldry team traces which line they belonged to.

Get the complete Neef report, with a museum-style coat of arms.