Cerf or Le Cerf is a
French-language surname, derived from ''cerf'', meaning "hind", "hart" or "
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
". It is common for both Christians
[ ] and Jews, an equivalent of
Naphtali
According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali (; ) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Bilhah (Jacob's sixth son). He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Naphtali.
Some biblical commentators have suggested that the name ''Naphtali'' ...
, to which the meaning of "hind" is attributed , and is thus also the equivalent of the same name translated into other European languages, for example Hirsch in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
and
Jellinek in
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
.
Notable people with this surname include the following:
*
Bennett Cerf
Bennett Alfred Cerf (May 25, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American writer, publisher, and co-founder of the American publishing firm Random House. Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearanc ...
(1898–1971), publisher and co-founder of Random House
** Jonathan Cerf, his son, author of ''Big Bird's Red Book'' and the
1980 world champion of Othello, the board game
*
Camille Cerf (journalist) (a man, 1862 – 1936), Belgian journalist and camera operator who worked for the Lumière brothers as of 1895
*
Camille Cerf (a woman, born 1994), recipient of the Miss France 2015 award
*
Cécile Cerf (1916–1973), French resistance fighter
*
Christopher Cerf (musician and television producer) (born 1941), American author, composer-lyricist, and record and television producer
*
Christopher Cerf (school politician and businessman) (born 1960), New Jersey educator
*
Ferdinand Le Cerf
Ferdinand Le Cerf (3 October 1881, Paris – 1945, Paris) was a French entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera.
He was a ''préparateur'' or technician in the entomological laboratories of Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris (where ...
(1881–1945), French entomologist
*
Gustav Zerffi, born Cerf or Hirsch (1820–1892), Hungarian Jewish journalist, revolutionary and spy
*
Jean Cerf (born 1928), French mathematician who worked in differential topology and symplectic geometry, pioneer of
Cerf theory
*
Jean-Laurent Le Cerf de La Viéville (1674–1707), musicographer
*
Karl Friedrich Cerf (1782–1845), German theatrical manager
*
Muriel Cerf (1950–2012), French novelist and travel writer
*
Nicolas J. Cerf (born 1965), a Belgian theoretical physicist working on quantum information theory
*
Phyllis Cerf (1916–2006), American actress, journalist, and children's book publisher, and the co-founder of Beginner Books
*
Vint Cerf
Vinton Gray Cerf (; born June 23, 1943) is an American Internet pioneer and is recognized as one of " the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title with TCP/IP co-developer Bob Kahn. He has received honorary degrees and awards that include ...
(born 1943), American computer scientist, often referred to as one of the founding fathers of the Internet
See also
*
Cerfbeer
References
{{Authority control
Jewish surnames
French-language surnames