Sokolof History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Poland
• Russia

Etymology of Sokolof

The Russian and Slavic surname Sokolof has two distinct origins. In the first place, Sokolof is a patronymic-nickname deriving from a physical characteristic or personal attribute of the first bearer while patronymic surnames derive from the personal name of the father of the original bearer. In this case, the surname Sokolof derives from the Slavic term "sokol" meaning "falcon" and the suffix "-off" which is an Anglicized form of the Russian patronymic ending "-ov" denoting "descendant of". Therefore, the surname Sokolof denotes "son or descendant of Sokol (the falcon)". Interestingly, the word "Sokol" may be either a nickname for a rapacious or eager person, or someone who had the attributes of a falcon, or a metonymic occupational name for a falconer.

In some case, the surname Sokolof is also borne by Jewish Ashkenazic families, in which instance, is of toponymic origin. Toponymic surnames are those which derive their origin from the place name where the first bearer lived or held land. In this case, the name Sokolof is seen in many localities, large and small, because the word "sokol" came to denote "a hero". It may also appear in Germanized forms of Sokoloff and Sokolow.

Early Origins of the Sokolof family

Early History of the Sokolof family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sokolof research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1764, 1774, 1788, 1835, 1852, 1854, 1859 and 1922 are included under the topic Early Sokolof History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sokolof Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Sokolow, Sokol, Sokoll, Sokolov, Sokolof, Sokolovic, Sokic and many more.

Early Notables of the Sokolof family

Prominent among bearers of this surname in early times were Dmitri Ivanovich Sokolov (1788-1852), a Russian geologist and specialist on mining who was a teacher at the St. Petersburg mining institute and a professor at St Petersburg University. The...
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Sokolof Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Sokolof family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: some of the great number of bearers of Alexander who came to North America. Nikolas Alexander arrived in New York in 1842.