The buff Surname
buff Name Meaning and History
- German: nickname for a violent, aggressive person, from Middle High German buf ‘push’, ‘shove’.
- German: from the Old German personal name Bodo or the compound name Bodefrit, containing the Old High German element buitan ‘to bid or order’ or boto ‘messenger’.
- English: of uncertain derivation; possibly a nickname, either variant of Boff 1, or alternatively from Old French buf(f)e ‘blow’, ‘slap in the face’. Compare Buffin.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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