Family name origins & meanings
- North German : occupational name for an official, for example a judge or church official, from Middle Low German staf ‘staff’, a symbol of office.
- Americanized spelling of Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) Staw, either an ornamental name from Polish staw ‘pond’ or a habitational name for someone from a place called Stawy (see Stawski).
- Norwegian : habitational name from any of several farmsteads named Stave, a variant of Stava.