Oelfke

Oelfke^ⓘ is a German surname and a Low German (Plattdüütsch) masculine given name.

The name Oelfke, name of farmers from the "Hohe Heidmark" of the administrative district Heidekreis in Lower-Saxony, Germany traces back to Ol, Oel=Adel (nobility), Od=Besitz (property), like Oleff, Oloff, Odulleib, that's the one who has the life in sense of "being inheritor", simply expressed that's the one who owns the inheritance of farmer.¹ The farm's name "Oelfkenhof" in Oerbke is already traced to the "Celler Schatzregister" of 1438.²

A descendant of the Oelfke family immigrated to the area of Hamburg, Minnesota where thousands of his descendants now live.

• Heinz Oelfke (born 1934), German author
• Monika Fornaçon, born Oelfke (born 1964), German football referee

• Tami Oelfken (1888–1957), German author and school reformer

• Brigitte Oelke (born 1975), Swiss musician and actor
• Jürgen Oelke (born 1940), German rowing coxswain

• Bryan Oelkers (born 1961), American Major League Baseball pitcher
• Claire Oelkers (born 1985), singer of German rock band Karpatenhund
• Olga Oelkers (1887–1969), German fencer