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

Chafin, 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 Chafin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chafin in America

Chafin is the 8981st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chafin surname appeared 3,643 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Chafin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chafin 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 Chafin

The surname Chafin is believed to have originated in England, derived from the Old English words "caf" meaning chaff, and "fen" meaning fen or marsh, suggesting a connection to an area with chaff-producing crops or marshlands.

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the late 12th century, with references found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire from the reign of Richard I (1189-1199). These records mention individuals with variations of the name, such as Cafeyn and Chaffyn.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire (1273), listing a Richard Chafyn as a landowner in the area. This suggests that the family had established itself in the region by this time.

The Chafin name has also been linked to several place names in England, such as Chafyn Farm in Dorset, which may have taken its name from an early landowner with the surname.

Notable historical figures with the surname Chafin include:

1. Robert Chafin (c. 1450-1528), a prominent lawyer and Member of Parliament for Dorset during the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII.
2. Thomas Chafin (c. 1560-1632), an English politician who served as Member of Parliament for Dorset in the early 17th century.
3. William Chafin (c. 1611-1668), an English clergyman and academic who served as Provost of Worcester College, Oxford.
4. John Chafin (1681-1758), a British landowner and Member of Parliament for Dorset in the mid-18th century.
5. William Chafin (1773-1849), a British army officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a colonial administrator in South Africa.

Over the centuries, the Chafin surname has spread beyond its English origins, with bearers found in various parts of the world, including North America and Australia, though its roots can be traced back to the marshlands and agricultural regions of medieval England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chafin

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

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

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

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