Neef Surname

82,847th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 5,845 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Germany
Highest density in:
Netherlands

Neef Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the nephew'; Old French le neve.' Neve, sonys sone, nepos.' 'Neve, broderys sone, mptis': Promptorium Parvulorum Neve also acquired a secondary meaning, of waster or self-indulgent man, exactly as nepos did in Latin.

Read More About This Surname

Neef Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Germany3,8601:20,8562,780
Netherlands9121:18,5172,882
United States5991:605,10749,190
France1491:445,79064,161
Belgium861:133,68219,279
Canada321:1,151,42583,867
Switzerland301:273,76422,252
Australia231:1,173,72664,589
England181:3,095,448105,421
Greece181:615,54471,673
India181:42,614,743461,117
Chile151:1,174,43221,998
Austria121:709,62061,025
South Africa121:4,514,809137,638
Norway121:428,52437,411
Pakistan91:19,849,32172,658
Thailand81:8,829,793476,604
Brazil71:30,582,047441,004
Scotland51:1,070,76331,189
Venezuela41:7,551,01953,668
Sweden41:2,461,689157,534
Argentina21:21,371,707253,176
Vietnam11:92,646,0548,382
New Zealand11:4,528,32355,372
Ukraine11:45,522,696503,646
Tunisia11:610,62630,336
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
Slovakia11:5,336,450140,422
Namibia11:2,409,40119,676
Liberia11:4,408,53547,110
Bahrain11:1,348,60810,432
Aruba11:103,4772,586
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland11:4,429,86640,727
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England51:4,875,074116,529
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1631:308,09024,322

Neef (145) may also be a first name.

Neef Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the nephew'; Old French le neve.' Neve, sonys sone, nepos.' 'Neve, broderys sone, mptis': Promptorium Parvulorum Neve also acquired a secondary meaning, of waster or self-indulgent man, exactly as nepos did in Latin. 'Neve, neverthryfte or wastour, nepos': Promptorium Parvulorum.

Rayner le Neve, Norfolk, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Walter le Neve, Norfolk, ibid.

John Neven, Essex, ibid.

Hugh Nepos, Lincolnshire, ibid.

Robert Bernardsnef, Lincolnshire: Pardons Roll, 6 Richard II.

This means Robert, the nephew of Bernard. The final 's' in Neaves and Neeves is the genitive; compare Williams, Jones, &c.

1662. Married — Richard Neave and Avery Mason: Reg. St. Antholin (London).

1711. Buried — William Neeves: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1807. Married — Edward Neaves and Amy Fenton: St. George, Hanover Square.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

A rare surname recorded in Perthshire. It may be from OF. neve, 'nephew,' but is probably a variant of Nevay, which see, but compare Neaves. Jean Neave is recorded in Edinburgh, 1661 (Edinb. Marr.).

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(German, English, Belgian) A nephew.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

(Dutch/Flemish), Nephew, Cousin, or Grandson. (variant: Oom.)

Surnames (1857) by Bernard Homer Dixon

The Norfolk name of Neave, or Neve, as it is written in a few instances, was represented in this county, and also in the adjacent counties of Cambridge and Suffolk, by Le Neve during the 13th century (H. R.).

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Neef Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Neef Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Neef is borne by more people in Germany than any other country or territory. It can be found as:. For other potential spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Neef? popularity and diffusion

This last name is the 82,847th most commonly used last name worldwide, borne by approximately 1 in 1,246,800 people. The last name Neef is primarily found in Europe, where 87 percent of Neef reside; 86 percent reside in Western Europe and 83 percent reside in Germanic Europe. Neef is also the 766,399th most frequently held first name in the world It is held by 145 people.

The last name is most commonly held in Germany, where it is held by 3,860 people, or 1 in 20,856. In Germany it is most frequent in: North Rhine-Westphalia, where 25 percent are found, Saxony, where 21 percent are found and Baden-Württemberg, where 20 percent are found. Without taking into account Germany this surname exists in 31 countries. It also occurs in The Netherlands, where 16 percent are found and The United States, where 10 percent are found.

Neef Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Neef has changed over time. In The United States the number of people carrying the Neef last name grew 367 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in England it grew 360 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Neef Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the Neef surname is predominantly Catholic (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States Neef are 11.45% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 58.22% being registered with the political party.

The amount Neef earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 0.91% less than the national average, earning 342,930 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 84.65% less than the national average, earning R 36,480 per year; in United States they earn 34.54% more than the national average, earning $58,051 USD per year and in Canada they earn 2.21% less than the national average, earning $48,587 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Neefs891,766/
Neefe89383/
Neeff89356/
Neeft89274/
Hneef89216/
Nheef898/
Neefh893/
Neief891/
Neesf891/
Nef862,839/
Neeffs8041/
Najeef8027/
Nayeef8020/
Hneefh802/
Hneeff801/
Hneeft801/
Neff7542,513/
Neeb754,208/
Naef754,081/
Neft75724/
Nief75554/
Nefs75391/
Neuf75348/
Nehf75253/
Neif75246/
Nefe75217/
Nepf75162/
Neaf75116/
Neew75109/
Neev7572/
Nesf7514/
Nhef7511/
Ngef7510/
Neyf753/
Noef753/
Nefh752/
Newf751/
Nuef751/
Nnef751/
Neefová731/
Nayef6793,887/
Neffe67549/
Neiff67428/
Naief67371/
Naeff67162/
Neife67158/
Neiev67124/
Gnepf67121/
Gneev6747/
Neuff6725/
Nejeb6718/
Nheew6716/
Hneif6714/
Najef6710/
Hneev678/
Neebh677/
Ngeew677/
Neift677/
Gneew676/
Hneew675/
Neehw674/
Neffs674/
Nephe674/
Hneeb674/
Neyeb673/
Nejaf673/
Neejw673/
Nedft672/
Neuhf672/
Neshf672/
Noeff672/
Neeww672/
Neevs672/
Neuft672/
Nejif672/
Nehaf672/
Nefsj671/
Neeaw671/
Nezfe671/
Hneff671/
Neftd671/
Gnefe671/
Nieff671/
Neyaf671/
Neyfe671/
Nettf671/
Neyff671/
Nhefe671/
Noyef671/
Neeab671/
Nejff671/
Hneaf671/
Neaff670/
Neifs670/
Newff670/

Search for Another Surname

Neef Reference & Research

NEFF NAVE NAFF FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Neef
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis