The original meaning in medieval times was "steward", i.e. one who manages the property of another. In English and other European languages, including Yiddish and Dutch, the name can also be spelled Hoffmann, Hofmann, Hofman, Huffman, and Hofmans.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Warren LeMay from Cincinnati, OH, United States (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.