2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Arfman
A surname potentially derived from the Dutch word "arf" meaning inheritance or estate.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Arfman. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arfman 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Arfman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arfman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Arfman
The surname Arfman has its origins in the Low Countries, particularly in the region of the Netherlands. It is believed to have emerged in the late 15th century or early 16th century. The name is derived from the Dutch words "arf" and "man," with "arf" meaning "inheritance" or "inheritance claim." This suggests that the name may have originally been given to someone who had received or laid claim to an inheritance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arfman can be found in the Dutch city of Leiden in the year 1532. A baptismal record from the Pieterskerk church in Leiden mentions a child named Adriaen Arfman, son of Pieter Arfman. This suggests that the Arfman family had already established itself in the region by that time.
In the 17th century, the name Arfman appears in various records from the Dutch province of Friesland. For example, a man named Marten Arfman is listed in a census record from the city of Leeuwarden in 1674. This indicates that the name had spread beyond its initial region of origin.
One notable figure with the surname Arfman was Gerrit Arfman, a Dutch painter who lived from 1705 to 1774. He was born in the town of Zwolle and is known for his landscape paintings, particularly those depicting scenes from the Overijssel region.
Another notable individual was Jacob Arfman, a Dutch theologian and author who lived from 1756 to 1824. He was born in the town of Zutphen and wrote several books on religious topics, including a commentary on the Book of Revelation.
In the 19th century, the Arfman name can be found in various records from the Netherlands and its former colonies. For instance, a man named Pieter Arfman is listed as a resident of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in an 1865 census record from the city of Batavia (present-day Jakarta).
Other notable individuals with the surname Arfman include Hendrik Arfman, a Dutch politician who served as a member of the Tweede Kamer (the lower house of the Dutch parliament) in the late 19th century, and Cornelis Arfman, a Dutch military officer who served in the Dutch East Indies in the early 20th century.
Overall, the surname Arfman has a long and rich history, with its roots firmly planted in the Low Countries and a presence that has extended to various parts of the world over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arfman
Among Census respondents with the surname Arfman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Arfman 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 Arfman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 90
- Hispanic or Latino9.7% · 10
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arfman
Arfman 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
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-3 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,119 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 725 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 13,119 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 725 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 Arfman 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 | #154,907 | #154,182 | 0.5% |
| Count | 105 | 103 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arfman bearers went from 105 to 103 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 725 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #154,182.
FAQ
Arfman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arfman?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Arfman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Arfman?
Arfman ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Arfman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Arfman.
Has Arfman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arfman went from 105 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Arfman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arfman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Arfman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (90 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arfman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Hispanic (9.7%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Arfman (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 Arfman mean?
A surname potentially derived from the Dutch word "arf" meaning inheritance or estate. 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 Arfman (0.03 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 are called Arfman?
See how common the surname Arfman is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.