STAFF. The Roman family of the Scipiones derived their name from the filial piety of a person who nsed to lead about his aged father, who was blind, and thus by metaphor became his staff (scij)io.) AVhether the English family can boast of a like honourable origin I know not.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.