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

Chelf, 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 Chelf surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chelf in America

Chelf is the 31629th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chelf surname appeared 731 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 Chelf.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chelf 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 Chelf

The surname CHELF originated in the Rhineland region of Germany during the medieval period, sometime around the 12th or 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "chelfer," which referred to a helper or assistant. This name may have been given to someone who worked in a supporting role, perhaps as a servant or laborer.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name CHELF can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the Rhineland area, dated circa 1280. In this document, a man named Henricus Chelf is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction.

Another early reference comes from the Boppard Abbey records in the late 14th century, where a certain Johannes Chelf is listed as a tenant farmer on the abbey's lands.

During the 16th century, as the practice of using hereditary surnames became more widespread, the name CHELF began to appear in various towns and villages throughout the Rhineland region. One notable example is Petrus Chelf, a vintner from the town of Bacharach who lived from around 1520 to 1585.

As the centuries passed, some members of the CHELF family migrated to other parts of Germany and Europe. In the late 17th century, a man named Hans Chelf, born around 1670, settled in the town of Heidelberg and became a successful merchant.

Another prominent figure with the CHELF surname was Johann Gottfried Chelf, a philosopher and theologian who lived from 1692 to 1764. He was born in the town of Mainz and later became a professor at the University of Halle.

In the 19th century, the name CHELF can be found in various records from the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany. One notable individual was Karl Chelf, a writer and historian born in 1825 in the town of Speyer.

While the CHELF name has its origins in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through emigration. Some individuals with this surname have become notable in their own right, contributing to various fields such as academia, arts, and sciences.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chelf

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

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

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

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