Family name origins & meanings
- Muslim and Christian Arabic : from an Arabic personal name āsaf, of unknown etymology. This was the name of Suleiman’s grand wazir, whence it came to be used proverbially as a name for any wise counselor.
- Jewish (Sephardic) : either an adoption of the Arabic name or from the Biblical name Asaph, name of a counselor of King David and King Solomon, to whom authorship of twelve of the Psalms is attributed (1 Chronicles 16:4–5; Psalms 50, 73–83).