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

Affholder, 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 Affholder surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Affholder in America

Affholder is the 157234th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Affholder surname appeared 103 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 Affholder.

The history of the last name Affholder

The surname Affholder is believed to have originated in Germany, where it first appeared in the early 16th century. The name is derived from the Middle High German words "affe" meaning "ape" or "monkey" and "holder" meaning "keeper" or "tender." It is thought to have been an occupational surname given to those who cared for monkeys or apes, perhaps in traveling menageries or circuses.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a registry of births in the town of Bamberg, Bavaria, from the year 1532, which lists a child named Hans Affholder. The name also appears in various church records and tax rolls from the 16th and 17th centuries in the regions of Franconia and Swabia.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name began to spread beyond its original German roots as individuals bearing the surname migrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. One notable bearer of the name was Johann Affholder, a Protestant theologian born in Nuremberg in 1677, who published several influential works on Christian doctrine.

In the 19th century, the Affholder name can be found in records from the United States, with one of the earliest recorded instances being that of Wilhelm Affholder, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in 1834. Another notable figure from this period was Charles Affholder, a French-born artist and lithographer who lived and worked in New York City in the latter half of the 19th century.

As the 20th century dawned, the surname continued to spread across the globe. One notable bearer was Carl Affholder, a German-American physicist who made significant contributions to the field of optics and was born in Mannheim, Germany, in 1902. Another was Heinz Affholder, a German-born architect and urban planner who worked extensively in South America and was born in Berlin in 1920.

Throughout its history, the Affholder surname has been subject to various spellings and variations, including Affholder, Affolder, Affholter, and Affelder, among others. While the name may have originated as an occupational descriptor, it has since become a proud family name carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Affholder

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

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 Affholder 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.

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 Affholder was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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