Kerckhoff Explained

Kerckhoff or Kerckhoffs is a Dutch and Low German toponymic surname meaning "church yard" (modern Dutch kerkhof). An ancestor may have lived near or worked in the church yard, or have come from a number of villages and hamlets named Kerkhove or Kerkhoven.^[1] Variant forms of the surname are Kerkhof, Kerkhoff(s), Kerkhove(n), and Van (de) Kerkhof(f). Notable people with the surname include:

• Auguste Kerckhoffs (1835–1903), Dutch linguist and cryptographer
  • Kerckhoffs' principle, a cryptographic principle named for him
• Hermann Kerckhoff (1937–2023), German-born Canadian slalom canoeist
• Joseph Kerckhoffs (1789–1867), Dutch physician
• Steven Kerckhoff (born 1952), American mathematician
• Sylvia Kerckhoff (born 1928), American mayor of Durham, North Carolina
• William G. Kerckhoff (1856–1929), American businessman
  • Kerckhoff Dam, a reservoir dam in California named after him
  • Kerckhoff Marine Lab, southern California marine station owned and operated by Caltech named after him

See also

• Kirchhoff, German cognate surname

Notes and References

1. http://www.cbgfamilienamen.nl/nfb/detail_naam.php?gba_lcnaam=kerkhoff&gba_naam=Kerkhoff&nfd_naam=Kerkhoff&operator=eq&taal= Kerkhoff