Surname Weghöft - Meaning and Origin

Weghöft: What does the surname Weghöft mean?

The last name Weghöft is likely of Germanic origin. It is derived from the old Germanic root words for “weight” and “clearing,” suggesting that the original ancestor of the Weghöft family was someone who worked as a weight inspector at a clearing. Specifically, the name likely referred to a person responsible for inspecting the weight of items in order to ensure that merchants were not being cheated.

In modern German, the word "weghoefte" is used to describe colloquially a person who was seen as having the responsibility to check the quality and quantity of goods being traded. This is likely why the name Weghöft was adopted by those working in the clearers and ports.

By examining the Weghöft family’s ancestral history, it is believed that the Weghöfts have their roots in North and West Germany, although exact locations and variants of the name are hard to pinpoint.

The name Weghöft could also be an adaption of a number of other names (like Weghai and Wegha) that could be related to similar job descriptions as the Weghöft meaning.

Thus, the name Weghöft may have referred first and foremost to someone who acted as a inspector of goods in a clearing yard, but it is likely that the name has been used by families of different backgrounds since its introduction.

Weghöft: Where does the name Weghöft come from?

The last name Weghöft is an old German name derived from the words, “Weg” meaning way or path and “höft” meaning a connecting place. The definite origin of this last name cannot be discerned but it is thought to have originated in the regions of Germany that form a triangle from Amsterdam to Dresden and then up to Hamburg. Today, Weghöft is still found in Germany, mostly concentrated in the old regional corners of the triangle, with the greatest concentrations in the area near Hamburg. It is also found in small numbers in a few neighboring countries, such as the Netherlands and Austria. In recent decades, Weghöft has spread further with immigration and globalization, and can now be found in the United States, Canada, Australia, and a few other countries around the world, due to emigration from Germany in the mid-1900s and later. Small numbers of Weghöfts can have different spellings, such as Veghoef or Weghef, due to local customs or errors in record keeping.

Variations of the surname Weghöft

Weghöft is a German and Dutch surname derived from the Dutch term "wegheuvel," meaning "hill near the road." Alternate spellings of this surname include Weghoefte, Wégheöft, Wéghöft, Weghoft, Weghoeft and Weghofte.

Variants of the surname Weghöft include Wagheuvel, Wagheve, Waghoefte, Waughöft, Wauhoft, Wagheuft and Wagheuve.

Other surnames of similar origin include Wehöver, Wehof, Wohav, Wagholft, Weghövte, Wigheuft, Wigheuvel and Wehöven.

Weghof, Wehofer, Wehofman, Wehofmann, Weghofmann, Wigefor, Weghoffer, Wegheürmann, Weghomann and Weghoffman are examples of surnames that also share the same origin.

In some cases, Weghöft has been transformed to Whitehead in some English speaking countries. Dutch speaking and German speaking countries may still use the original Weghöft form or variant spellings of the same name.

Famous people with the name Weghöft

• Sophie Weghöft, Danish paralympic swimmer
• Jan Christian Weghöft, German rower
• Andreas Weghöft, German rower
• Cenk Weghöft, Turkish weightlifter
• Frank Weghöft, German decathlete
• Lars Weghöft, German swimmer
• Moritz Weghöft, German swimmer
• Jens Weghöft, German rower
• Arnold Weghöft, Dutch cyclist
• Dirk Weghöft, German footballer
• Mitja Weghöft, German sprinter
• Hans-Joachim Weghöft, German footballer
• Hanno Weghöft, German orienteering athlete
• Volger Weghöft, German volleyball player
• Frieda Weghöft, German mathematician and physicist
• Tobias Weghöft, German swimmer
• Ute Weghöft, German handball player
• Heide Weghöft, German sprinter
• Jana Weghöft, German archer
• Petra Weghöft, German high jumper

Other surnames

WeghoferWeghoff