Duff (surname)

The surname Duff has several origins. In some cases, it is an Anglicised form of the Gaelic Ó Duibh ("descendant of Dubh"), Mac Giolla Duibh ("son of the servant of Dubh"), Mac Duibh ("son of Dubh"). The surname Duff is also sometimes a short form of Duffin (when of Gaelic origin), and MacElduff (from Mac Giolla Duibh), and Duffy (a name with multiple origins).

The Gaelic dubh ("black", "dark") is a word-element which forms a part of several Gaelic names.

Le Duff is the gallicized variant of the Breton surname An Du which means The Black.

People

 * Alan Duff (born 1950), New Zealand writer
 * Alexander Duff (missionary) (1806–1878), founder of Scottish Church College, Calcutta
 * Alexander Duff (Royal Navy officer) (1862–1933), British admiral
 * Andrew Duff, British politician
 * Anne Macintosh Duff (1925–2022), Canadian watercolor artist
 * Anne-Marie Duff, British actress
 * Antony Duff, past head of MI5
 * Arthur Duff (1899–1956), Irish composer
 * Bob Duff (rugby union) (1925–2006), New Zealand rugby union player and coach
 * Cara Leland Duff, later Lady Fairhaven
 * Chris Duff, American expedition sea kayaker
 * Damien Duff, Irish football manager and former player
 * Dick Duff, Canadian ice hockey player
 * Douglas Duff, policeman and author
 * Duncan Duff, Scottish actor
 * Edward Gordon Duff, British bibliographer and librarian
 * Elmyra Duff, fictional character from Tiny Toon Adventures
 * Ernest Duff (1931–2016), American businessman, lawyer and Mormon bishop
 * Captain George Duff of the Royal Navy who commanded HMS Mars at the Battle of Trafalgar
 * George F. D. Duff, (1926–2001) Canadian mathematician
 * Gordon William Duff, British professor
 * Hailey Duff (born 1997), Scottish curler
 * Haylie Duff, American actress, Hilary's sister
 * Hilary Duff, American pop singer and actress, Haylie's sister
 * Howard Duff, American actor
 * Jamal Duff, American actor and former NFL American football player
 * James Duff (disambiguation)
 * Jason Duff, Australian field hockey player
 * Jill Duff, Anglican priest and Bishop-designate of Lancaster
 * John Duff (disambiguation)
 * Louis Le Duff, French billionaire businessman
 * Lyman Poore Duff, Canadian Chief Justice
 * Michael Duff (physicist), British physicist and string theorist
 * Michael Duff (footballer), Northern Ireland footballer
 * Sir Michael Duff, 3rd Baronet, British hereditary peer
 * Mickey Duff, British boxing promoter
 * Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff (1829–1906), Scottish politician and author
 * Norwich Duff, British admiral
 * Patrick Duff, British singer-songwriter
 * Peggy Duff, British activist
 * Philip S. Duff, American newspaper editor and politician
 * Reggie Duff, Australian cricketer
 * Rick Duff, Canadian boxer
 * Robert Duff (disambiguation)
 * Roger Duff, New Zealand ethnologist
 * Shane Duff, Northern Irish footballer
 * Stan Duff (1919–1941), English footballer
 * Thomas Duff, Irish architect
 * Tom Duff, Canadian computer scientist
 * Warren B. Duff, film and television writer and producer
 * William E. Duff, American writer on counterespionage

In the British Royal Family:
 * Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife (1891–1959), née Duff
 * Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (1893–1945), née Duff

Scottish aristocrats:
 * William Duff, 1st Earl Fife (c. 1696 – 1763)
 * James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife (1729–1809)
 * Alexander Duff, 3rd Earl Fife (1731–1811)
 * James Duff, 4th Earl Fife (1776–1857)
 * James Duff, 5th Earl Fife (1814–1879)
 * Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife (1849–1912) (became Duke of Fife in 1887)
 * Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife (1849–1912)