Some German family names have clear origins (Fischer, Schumacher, Graubart, von Irgendwo, possibly Braun or Weiß). But others are harder to figure out.

For example, a colleague of mine is named Friedhoff (obviously related to German Friedhof). But why would someone be named Friedhof? I've never heard of a Richard Graveyard or an Elizabeth Cemetery.

I'm sure that this topic has been extensively studied. Can anyone point me to online references where this is discussed? I'd do the normal Google search, but I'm not sure what search terms to use. (Maybe "Ursprung Familiennamen"?)

I'm also interested in the topic of family names for German Jews, which of course as its own interesting history.

Thanks.