Show ContentsLuft History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Anglo-Saxon name Luft comes from when the family resided in the village of Lofthouse during the reign of King Alfred in 900 AD. This place-name was originally derived from the Old Norse words lopt meaning loft and hus meaning house. Therefore the original bearers of the Luft surname were dwellers of the loft house. [1]

Early Origins of the Luft family

The surname Luft was first found in North Yorkshire at Lofthouse, a small village in Nidderdale in the Harrogate district or at Lofthouse, a village in West Yorkshire. "This place, in the Domesday Survey Lochtushum, was granted by the Conqueror to Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, who soon afterwards transferred it to the Percy family, of whom William de Percy, the third Baron, in 1133 founded at Handall, in the parish, a priory for Benedictine nuns, which he dedicated to the Virgin Mary." [2]

Early History of the Luft family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Luft research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1573, 1605, 1619, 1620, 1639, 1647, 1691, 1695 and 1797 are included under the topic Early Luft History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Luft Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Luft has been recorded under many different variations, including Loftus, Lofthouse, Loftis, Loftiss, Loftos and others.

Early Notables of the Luft family

Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Luft Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Luft Ranking

In the United States, the name Luft is the 10,599th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [3]

Ireland Migration of the Luft family to Ireland

Some of the Luft family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 81 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Luft migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Luft or a variant listed above:

Luft Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Joh Henrich Luft, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1750 [4]
  • Johannes Luft, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1770 [4]
Luft Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Jac Luft, aged 24, who landed in New York, NY in 1847 [4]
  • J Luft, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 [4]
  • Anton Luft, who arrived in America in 1850 [4]
Luft Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Frederick Luft, who landed in Arkansas in 1901 [4]

Contemporary Notables of the name Luft (post 1700) +

  • Richard Nelson Luft (1938-2023), American politician who served in the Illinois House of Representatives (1975-1979)
  • Stanley J. Luft, American philatelist, awarded the Luff Award
  • Sidney "Sid" Luft (1915-2005), American film producer, third husband of Judy Garland, known for A Star Is Born (1954), Judy Garland's Hollywood (1997) and Kilroy Was Here (1947)
  • Lorna Luft (b. 1952), American Primetime Emmy Award nominated actress and singer, daughter Judy Garland, half-sister of Liza Minnelli, known for Grease 2 (1982), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic (1990) and Loose Women (1999)
  • Donald Richard "Don" Luft (1930-2002), American NFL football defensive end who played for the Philadelphia Eagles during the 1954 NFL season
  • Lya Fett Luft (1938-2021), Brazilian writer and a prolific translator from Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, working mostly in the English-Portuguese and the German-Portuguese language combinations
  • Klaus Luft (b. 1941), German businessman, founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Artedona
  • Cara Luft (b. 1974), Canadian singer-songwriter, founding member of the Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys
  • Arthur Luft (d. 2009), Manx judge and politician, First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls and a Member of the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man

Bismarck
  • Dietrich Luft (1915-1941), German Maschinenmaat who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking [5]


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  5. Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details


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