Surname Dryfoos - Meaning and Origin
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Dryfoos: What does the surname Dryfoos mean?
The last name Dryfoos is believed to originate from the Germanic-language family name “Dryfus,” meaning “son of the dry hill.” The earliest documented appearance of the name in writing occurred in the late seventeenth century in northern Germany. Families carrying the Dryfoos surname are found throughout Europe, with a majority of them in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
In the United States, the very first Dryfoos family arrived in 1750-1751, coming from Germany to Pennsylvania. From then on, Dryfoos’ spread throughout the East Coast and into the Midwest. Some of the early settlements where Dryfoos’ lived included Carolina County in Virginia, Knox County in Indiana, and Butler County in Ohio.
The Dryfoos surname is also found among several religious affiliations, including Mennonite, Lutheran, and Reformed Protestant churches. Though the roots of the Dryfoos family are primarily located in Europe, there is evidence of Dryfoos’ residing in Australia, Canada, and even as far as South Africa.
Given the wide dispersal of the Dryfoos name, the last name most likely originated as a metonym for a geographic area. It is likely that a family living in or near a dry hill in Germany came to be known as the Dryfoos family, thus establishing the Dryfoos legacy. Today, the name is often thought of as a symbol for resilience, fortitude, and an ability to persevere through difficult times.
Order DNA origin analysisDryfoos: Where does the name Dryfoos come from?
The last name Dryfoos is most commonly found in Germany, Austria, and Hungary, as well as in other countries with Germanic or Austro-Hungarian roots such as the United States, Canada, Uruguay, and Brazil. It is also found in other countries with populations descended from German immigrants, such as Chile and Argentina.
In the United States, Dryfoos is most prevalent in California and New York, but is also present in New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, and Iowa, as well as in other states with significant German populations. In Canada, it is most often found in Ontario and British Columbia. Urbana-Champaign, Illinois is the main concentration of Dryfoos in the United States, with many families having members living in that area.
The origination of the name is of German origin, meaning dry foot or foot that is dry. It is believed to come from a Christian reference. The use of Dryfoos as a surname appears to date back to at least the 1500s. The earliest records of the name come from Prussia and Hungary, where it was adopted by many families.
Dryfoos is an uncommon enough surname to make it easy to trace its history and discover how it has traveled and expanded across the globe. It is interesting to explore why and how families took on this name as it moved from country to country over the centuries.
Variations of the surname Dryfoos
The surname Dryfoos is derived from the German word “dorf”, which means “village”. This surname can be found with various spellings and variants, as well as some surnames of the same origin.
The most common spelling of the Dryfoos name is Draufuss, which is also the most common variant. This spelling is found in Germany, Switzerland, and other Germanic countries. Other spellings include Driefuß, Dreifuß, Dreufusse, Drefus, Dreifuss, Dreifoose, and Driefous.
In addition to the Dryfoos spelling, other surnames of the same origin include Drefus, Drefuss, Drefusse, Drefusser, Drefose, and Drefoose. In some cases, the surname was Anglicized to Traufuss or Trafoos.
The Dryfoos surname is most often seen amongst German and German-American families. However, due to German migration over the past centuries, the name can also be seen in other parts of Europe, such as Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Members of the Dryfoos family can also be found in the United States and Canada.
Famous people with the name Dryfoos
- Jacob Dryfoos: an American journalist and media executive who was the publisher of The New York Times from 1961 to 1963.
- Dorothy Dryfoos: a philanthropist and the former chair of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation.
- Moritz Dryfoos: a German-American banker and businessman who emigrated to the United States in 1852.
- Robert Dryfoos: a painter and muralist who worked in both the US and Mexico.
- Melville Charles Dryfoos: an American industrialist and investor who owned newspapers such as the Chicago Sun-Times.
- David B. Dryfoos: an American attorney who served as President of the American Jewish Congress between 1965 and 1970.
- John Dryfoos: a professional photographer in the early 20th century. He is noted for being the first photographer to document the clipper ship era.
- Adam Dryfoos: a former American tennis player who had won several tennis competitions in the early 1900s.
- Mark Dryfoos: the first ever Chief Medical Officer of the Heart Institute.
- Miriam Eliza Dryfoos: a notable American feminist and suffragist who was part of the first Women's Suffrage Parade in 1913.