Hoffmann

Hoffmann is a German surname derived from hof, meaning court or farm, and mann, meaning man. The name historically referred to someone connected with a farm or court and later became a hereditary family name. It is common in German-speaking countries and has spread to other regions through migration. Variants include Hofmann and Hoffmann; in English, Hoffman or Hoffman is also used.

Notable people with the surname include E. T. A. Hoffmann (Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, 1776–1822), a German Romantic author, composer and jurist whose tales such as The Sandman and The Nutcracker and the Mouse King influenced literature and music. Felix Hoffmann (1868–1946) was a German chemist at Bayer who, in 1897, developed a practical synthesis of acetylsalicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin, aiding its medical use. Heinrich Hoffmann (1885–1957) was a German photographer best known for portraits of Adolf Hitler, a body of work tied to the visual documentation of the Nazi era. Carl Hoffmann (1885–1947) was a German cinematographer who contributed to early German cinema in the silent and early sound periods.

The surname Hoffmann continues to be widely found in German-speaking regions today, and its variants appear in many countries due to migration and transliteration.