Boy name origins & meanings
- German : Barrel maker
Family name origins & meanings
- German : occupational name for a cooper or the overseer of a wine cellar, from an agent derivative of Middle High German kuofe ‘vat’, ‘barrel’ (from Latin cupa).
- from an agent derivative of Middle High German kiffen ‘to quarrel’, hence a nickname for a bickerer.
- Jewish (Ashkenazic) : ornamental name from German Kiefer ‘pine tree’. This word, which is first attested in the early 15th century, is a blend of kien and forhe, both meaning ‘pine’. The two elements still have a separate existence: kieboom is the Dutch term for a pine tree, while in many parts of Germany the word for the tree is Föhre.
