indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Type Surname (from occupation & from location)
Usage German, German (Austrian)
Meaning & History
Means "founder" in Middle High German, from stiften "to bring about, endow, donate", a name for a tenant farmer on previously unoccupied land, or a habitational name from the related word Stift meaning "endowed monastery, secular convent, church foundation".