Find out how popular the last name Aalfs is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Aalfs.

Aalfs, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Aalfs surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Aalfs in America

Aalfs is the 138304th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Aalfs surname appeared 121 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Aalfs.

We can also compare 2010 data for Aalfs to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name 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One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aalfs appears in the Levenaar Archives, a collection of historical documents from the Dutch province of Gelderland, dating back to the 16th century.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.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Aalfs

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Aalfs.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Aalfs was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Aalfs has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Aalfs was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Aalfs, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!