The Noffsinger surname is an American variation of the Nafzger surname. It seems that the first generation of Noffsingers did use this spelling, though not exclusively. And changes in spelling seem also to occur in subsequent generations. The American “o” in Noffsinger has a similar sound to the “a” in the German “Nafzger”. It seems also that my Noffsingers my have used the Nafziger spelling, which would account for the “i”. Variations with the single and double ‘f’ were common, even among European Nafzgers. The only question, then, is where did the ‘n’ come from?

For more detail on the origin of the Nafzger name, see my Nafzger page.

Rudolph Nafzger [Noffsinger] came to America on the ship Pheonix in 1749. Most think he came from the Palatinate. With him, came Peter and Matthias, whom most believe were brothers. Efforts to link them to the European Nafzgers have so far been unsuccessful. I have seen the name Matthias suggested as the name of Rudolph’s father, but I have never seen a source or even explanation for this data. For more detail see: Ancestors #9014, HNFA page 7-10, HNFA #4, NHN VII-4 (page 3), NHN III-3

John A. Noffsinger Ancestors #8966, HNFA #11.

Eli Noffsinger Ancestors #8956, HNFA #150.

Daniel Noffsinger Ancestors #8935, HNFA #151.

John Franklin Noffsinger Ancestors #8923, HNFA #164.

Daniel Marion Noffsinger Ancestors #9010, HNFA #164 child.