is a German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 surname and a Plattdüütsch

Low German

Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...

 (Low German) first name for boys.

Origin and meaning

The name Oelfke, name of farmers from the "Hohe Heidmark" of the administrative district Soltau-Fallingbostel

Soltau-Fallingbostel

Heidekreis is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Harburg, Lüneburg, Uelzen, Celle, Hanover, Nienburg, Verden and Rotenburg.-History:...

 in Lower-Saxony, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 traces back to Ol, Oel=Adel (nobility

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

), Od=Besitz (property

Property

Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...

), like Oleff, Oloff, Odulleib, that's the one who has the life in sense of "being inheritor", simply expressed that's the one who owns the inheritance of farmer. The farm's name "Oelfkenhof" in Oerbke is already traced to the "Celler Schatzregister" of 1438.

A descendant of the Oelfke family immigrated to the area of Hamburg, Minnesota where thousands of his descendants now live.

Possible alternatives are Oelfken, Oelke, Oelkers.

Oelfke

• Monika Fornaçon
  Monika Fornaçon
  Monika Fornaçon , born Oelfke, is a German football referee.-Career as player:From 1978 to 1991 Monika Fornaçon played football in Steimbke and Haßbergen.-Career as referee:...
  
  , born Oelfke, German football referee
• Heinz Oelfke, German author

Oelkers

• Claire Oelkers, singer of the German rock band Karpatenhund

External links

• Oelfke - Wiki (German)
• Heinrich Eggersglüß (German))