Origin of Paff
Recorded in many spelling forms including Pope, Pape, & Lepope (English and French), Pabst, Babst, Baff, Paff, Pfaff, Poff (German), Papez (Czech), Papiez and Papierz (Polish), Papis (Flemish), De Paepe (Dutch), Pappi (Finnish), and Papis (Flemish), as well as several diminutives including Pfaffel, Papen and Paffen (German), this interesting surname is a European status surname. It derives from the ecclesiastical title for head of the Roman Catholic Church, the (Latin) word "Papa", meaning a bishop or pope.
In the early Christian Church, "Papa" was used as a title of respect for clergy of every rank, but in the Western Church it gradually came to be restricted to bishops, and finally only to the bishop of Rome. In the Eastern Church it has continued to be used of all priests. As a surname it probably originated as a nickname for a person with an austere ecclesiastical appearance, or for an actor who had played the part of the pope in a medieval pageant or play. Ealy examples of the surname recording taken from authentic surving rolls and charters include the intriguing one of "Agnes le Pope" in Cambridgeshire, England. This was dated 1230, in the rolls known as "Liber Memorandorum Ecclesie de Bernewelle", whilst in Germany in 1287, Wernherus Pfaffe was recorded in the charters of Lorch, state of Hessian-Nassau. Throughout the centuries, with changing languages, dialects, and spellings, surnames in every country have continued to "develop", often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
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The surname Paff. Genealogy, origin, history, meaning, and significance
The origin, the coat of arms or the different heraldic shields, and the bibliography in which the surname paff is mentioned are part of this exciting investigation.
The surname Paff around the world
The list of countries with a higher presence of people with the surname paff provides us with a perspective on the history of the surname, beyond its origins, focusing on its migrations.
History of Paff
For those like you, who are interested in the history hidden behind the surname paff, it is essential to find all kinds of information, both direct and tangential, that helps to construct a solid narrative of how the birth and expansion of paff developed.
We keep our website updated through our own research and also thanks to contributions from people like you, after verification; so if you have information about paff and send it to us, we will update it on this website.
Notable Figures Named Paff
Sadly, not all the contributions of those who bore the surname paff were recorded by the chroniclers of the time.
The surname Paff and its bibliographic sources
The origin, history, coat of arms or different coats of arms, and the heraldry of paff are recorded in a wide variety of sources and documents that are essential to know for better compilation.
SOURCES
These sources are essential for initiating the understanding of paff, and at the same time, of surnames in general.
