2000
#120,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Aalfs
A habitational surname of Dutch or German origin, derived from a place name meaning "eel river."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Aalfs. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Aalfs surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Aalfs in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Aalfs, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Aalfs
The surname Aalfs has its origins in the Netherlands, tracing back to the late Middle Ages around the 14th or 15th century. It is believed to be derived from a Dutch given name, possibly a diminutive form of the name Adalbert or Albrecht, which were popular Germanic names during that era. The name's roots can be traced to the Old High German words "adal" meaning noble and "beraht" meaning bright or illustrious.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aalfs appears in the Levenaar Archives, a collection of historical documents from the Dutch province of Gelderland, dating back to the 16th century. These archives mention an individual named Hendrick Aalfs, who lived in the town of Arnhem in the late 1500s.
Another early reference to the name can be found in the records of the Dutch Reformed Church in the city of Leiden, where a certain Jan Aalfs is listed as a member in the early 17th century. This suggests that the name was present in various regions of the Netherlands during that time period.
In the 18th century, a notable figure with the surname Aalfs was Pieter Aalfs, a Dutch merchant and ship owner who was born in Harlingen in 1712. He played a significant role in the maritime trade between the Netherlands and the East Indies during the height of the Dutch East India Company's influence.
The 19th century saw the emergence of Gerrit Aalfs, a Dutch painter and lithographer who was born in Groningen in 1817 and became known for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the Netherlands and Germany. His works are held in various museums and private collections across Europe.
Another individual of note was Johannes Aalfs, a Dutch theologian and biblical scholar who lived from 1834 to 1919. He made significant contributions to the study of the New Testament and served as a professor at the University of Amsterdam for many years.
While the surname Aalfs is primarily associated with the Netherlands, it has also been found in other countries due to migration and diaspora communities. However, its origins can be traced back to the Dutch provinces, where it has been present for several centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aalfs
Among Census respondents with the surname Aalfs, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Aalfs bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Aalfs surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 106
- Two or more races6.9% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Aalfs
Aalfs appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-12 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,974 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-5 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,724 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #120,330 | 133 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 17,974 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 6,724 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Aalfs surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #138,304 | #145,028 | -4.9% |
| Count | 121 | 116 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Aalfs bearers went from 121 to 116 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 6,724 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #145,028.
FAQ
Aalfs surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Aalfs?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Aalfs. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Aalfs?
Aalfs ranks #145,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 116 people with the surname Aalfs. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Aalfs.
Has Aalfs become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Aalfs went from 121 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Aalfs?
Among Census respondents with the surname Aalfs, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Aalfs in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Aalfs appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Two or More Races (6.9%), Hispanic (0.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Aalfs (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Aalfs mean?
A habitational surname of Dutch or German origin, derived from a place name meaning "eel river." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Aalfs (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Aalfs?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Aalfs, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.