Schaffner Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Schaffner last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Schaffner last name
Meaning of the Schaffner last name: a manager or steward of a household. Schaffner is an occupational surname from Middle High German schaffenære, a steward or manager of an estate, monastery or household, as Smith explains. The last name is common in Switzerland and southwestern Germany, and this surname was brought to Pennsylvania by eighteenth-century emigrants.
Arms associated with the Schaffner name
Sharing a surname establishes no coat of arms entitlement; heraldry follows documented individual lineages.
Get your full Schaffner family history
This is only a glimpse of the Schaffner story. The full Schaffner history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Schaffner coat of arms. Get the full Schaffner report.
Schaffner name FAQ
What does the Schaffner name mean?
A manager or steward of a household.
Where does the Schaffner surname come from?
It originates in Germany, and is also found in the United States and France.
Is there a Schaffner coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Schaffner coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Elsdon C. Smith, Dictionary of American Family Names (1956), individual surname entries; modern indexed dictionary entries supersede conflicting interpretations.; Forebears, Surnam.es and individual surname distribution references.