Jaffe
A surname often associated with Jewish families, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, with roots probably in a place-name or Hebrew personal name tradition.
The #5,886 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 52,642 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Jaffe is commonly treated as a Jewish surname that likely arose in German-speaking or Yiddish-speaking communities. It is often linked either to the Hebrew name Yafeh/Yaffa, meaning "beautiful" or "handsome," or to a place-based origin connected with Jaffa/Joppa. Because these strands can overlap in Jewish naming practice, the surname’s exact starting point is not always certain.
History
The name is well known among Ashkenazi Jewish families and is found in several spellings across Germanic and Slavic regions. In modern times it spread widely through migration to North America and elsewhere. The historical excerpts provided do not discuss the surname’s origin directly, so this entry relies on general onomastic evidence rather than the citations themselves.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The spelling Jaffé often reflects a French or German-style accent mark added in some branches of the family, especially in scholarly or continental European contexts.
From the historical record
“grymes," has the following direction : — " Also wlian ye take your asse .it porte Jaffe (Joppa) be not too longe beh}Tide your felowes, for and ye come betynie, ye may cluise the best mule or asse that ye can, for ye shall pay no move for the best tlian the worst. Also ye must gyve your Assemun there of curtesy a…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom