Surname Sempff - Meaning and Origin

Sempff: What does the surname Sempff mean?

The last name Sempff is of German origin. It is derived from the word “schnepf” which literally means “titmouse” and is thought to have been used as a nickname for someone who was considered small or petite. The surname can be found in records dating back to 1576 in the region of Thuringia in Germany. The earliest record of the surname is in a church register located in Lahm where the family name first appears in 1576.

The Sempff surname is fairly uncommon but is still found in Germany and other German-speaking countries. It is most common in the region of eastern Bavaria where the original Sempff family was located. It can also be found in countries and regions with a large German-speaking population like Pennsylvania, North and South Dakota, and parts of Canada. It is also frequently seen among German Americans because of their immigration to the US and other countries in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Sempff surname is symbolic of the Germanic culture and values that were so important to those immigrants. It demonstrates the close connection between the family and their homeland which is something that was and still is deeply valued by German descendants. The origin of the Sempff surname is a reminder of that past, and the people who have proudly carried the name throughout the centuries.

Sempff: Where does the name Sempff come from?

The last name Sempff is of German origin and is most commonly found in Germany today. While the last name is not particularly rare, it is not overly common either. It can be found throughout the northern part of Germany in areas such as Rhineland-Palatinate, Rheinland-Pfalz, Berlin, and Bavaria, as well as in some of the surrounding countries such as Austria, Switzerland, and France.

The etymology of the name is not known, but it appears to have been derived from the Germanic or Middle High German words "sempf," meaning "clump of trees," or "sampfen," meaning "to move quickly." It is possible that the original bearer of the name lived near a group of trees or was swift of foot.

The frequency of the name in Germany has remained relatively constant over the past two centuries and is less common than many other German last names including Mueller, Schmidt, and Meier. Outside of Germany, Sempff is still relatively uncommon. There are some small pockets of population that carry the surname in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and Australia, though the numbers are not particularly significant.

Variations of the surname Sempff

The variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin for the surname Sempff are Sempel, Sempeler, Sempé, Sempering, Sempt, Semph, Sampt, Semphf, Senff, Semphf, Sampf, Sempev, Simph and Simpr.

Sempff is a German surname derived from the given name Siempel, which is a short form of Siemper or Siemperor. It was mainly established in North and east Germany, and was borne by people living around the former district of West Prussia.

The variants, spellings and surnames of Sempff all share their roots in the word Siemperor or Siemper, which derived from the German word ‘simens’ meaning ‘to be noble’ or ‘high-born’. This connotation denotes that those with this surname were of a noble standing, and served as a prefix to many separate but related surnames. Over the centuries, various influences caused people with the same surname to diverge in terms of spelling; the general migration of people changed techniques in language use, and different cultures with different ways of pronouncing and spelling words led to a wide variety of spellings for one surname.

The spelling may have also changed due to the presence or absence of the letter ‘h’. The ‘h’ was sometimes used to soften the Gi sound (as in Gempel), while other times it was removed altogether (as in Semppel). In German culture, the final letter of words was also subject to change, so the ‘f’ of Sempff could have been replaced with a ‘v’ (as in Sempev) or a ‘ph’ (as in Simph).

In more recent history, surnames have continued to diverge through anglicisation and translation. The Anglicised spelling of Sempff as “Sampf” further diversified its original source, and in English culture, due to the absence of the letter ‘h’, there are some variations such as Sempel, Sempeler and Sempering.

Overall, it can be said that the variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin for the surname Sempff have many routes of origin. Through linguistic and cultural influences, the spelling of this surname has grown vastly, and in modern day, it continues to mutate.

Famous people with the name Sempff

• Gabriel Sempff: German footballer
• Greta Sempff: German actress
• John Sempff: American actor
• Nina Sempff: German musician and singer
• Noemi Sempff: German violinist
• Erich Sempff: German physicist
• Bernd Sempff: German writer and journalist
• Kurt Sempff: German violinist
• Lutz Sempff: German composer
• Robert Sempff: German actor
• Berthold Sempff: German architect
• Michael Sempff: German publisher
• Helge Sempff: German painter
• Erik Sempff: German pianist
• Roger Sempff: French musician, composer, and artist

Other surnames

Sempf