The surname Duff has several origins. In some cases, it is an Anglicised form of the Gaelic Ó Duibh ("descendant of Dubh"), Mac Giolla Duibh ("son of the servant of Dubh"), Mac Duibh ("son of Dubh"). The surname Duff is also sometimes a short form of Duffin (when of Gaelic origin), and MacElduff (from Mac Giolla Duibh), and Duffy (a name with multiple origins).^[1]

The Gaelic dubh ("black", "dark") is a word-element which forms a part of several Gaelic names.^[1]

Le Duff is the gallicized variant of the Breton surname An Du which means The Black.

• Alan Duff (born 1950), New Zealand writer
• Alexander Duff (missionary) (1806–1878), founder of Scottish Church College, Calcutta
• Alexander Duff (Royal Navy officer) (1862–1933), British admiral
• Andrew Duff, British politician
• Anne Macintosh Duff (1925–2022), Canadian watercolor artist
• Anne-Marie Duff, British actress
• Antony Duff, past head of MI5
• Arthur Duff (1899–1956), Irish composer
• Bob Duff (rugby union) (1925–2006), New Zealand rugby union player and coach
• Cara Leland Duff, later Lady Fairhaven
• Chris Duff, American expedition sea kayaker
• Damien Duff, Irish football manager and former player
• Dick Duff, Canadian ice hockey player
• Douglas Duff, policeman and author
• Duncan Duff, Scottish actor
• Edward Gordon Duff, British bibliographer and librarian
• Elmyra Duff, fictional character from Tiny Toon Adventures
• Ernest Duff (1931–2016), American businessman, lawyer and Mormon bishop
• Captain George Duff of the Royal Navy who commanded HMS Mars at the Battle of Trafalgar
• George F. D. Duff, (1926–2001) Canadian mathematician
• Gordon William Duff, British professor
• Hailey Duff (born 1997), Scottish curler
• Haylie Duff, American actress, Hilary's sister
• Hilary Duff, American pop singer and actress, Haylie's sister
• Howard Duff, American actor
• Jamal Duff, American actor and former NFL American football player
• James Duff (disambiguation)
• Jason Duff, Australian field hockey player
• Jill Duff, Anglican priest and Bishop-designate of Lancaster
• John Duff (disambiguation)
• Louis Le Duff, French billionaire businessman
• Lyman Poore Duff, Canadian Chief Justice
• Michael Duff (physicist), British physicist and string theorist
• Michael Duff (footballer), Northern Ireland footballer
• Sir Michael Duff, 3rd Baronet, British hereditary peer
• Mickey Duff, British boxing promoter
• Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff (1829–1906), Scottish politician and author
• Norwich Duff, British admiral
• Patrick Duff, British singer-songwriter
• Peggy Duff, British activist
• Philip S. Duff, American newspaper editor and politician
• Reggie Duff, Australian cricketer
• Rick Duff, Canadian boxer
• Robert Duff (disambiguation)
• Roger Duff, New Zealand ethnologist
• Shane Duff, Northern Irish footballer
• Stan Duff (1919–1941), English footballer
• Thomas Duff, Irish architect
• Tom Duff, Canadian computer scientist
• Warren B. Duff, film and television writer and producer
• William E. Duff, American writer on counterespionage

In the British Royal Family:

• Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife (1891–1959), née Duff
• Princess Maud, Countess of Southesk (1893–1945), née Duff

Scottish aristocrats:

• William Duff, 1st Earl Fife (c. 1696 – 1763)
• James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife (1729–1809)
• Alexander Duff, 3rd Earl Fife (1731–1811)
• James Duff, 4th Earl Fife (1776–1857)
• James Duff, 5th Earl Fife (1814–1879)
• Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife (1849–1912) (became Duke of Fife in 1887)
• Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife (1849–1912)

• Clan MacDuff
• Duff (disambiguation)
• McDuff (disambiguation)
• Le Duff, another surname

Surname list

This page lists people with the surname Duff.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.