indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Type Surname (from nickname)
Usage English
Meaning & History
From a medieval nickname for an enthusiastic competitor in sports and games (from Middle English pleyfere "companion in play, playmate"), or else a different form of Playford (from a Suffolk place-name meaning "ford where sports are held"). The Playfair cipher is a type of code in which successive pairs of letters are replaced by pairs chosen in a prescribed manner from a matrix of 25 letters, usually arranged in accordance with a key-word. It is named after its deviser, the British chemist and administrator Lyon Playfair, Lord Playfair (1818-1898).