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

Cruff, 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 Cruff surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cruff in America

Cruff is the 88336th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cruff surname appeared 210 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 Cruff.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cruff 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 Cruff

The surname "CRUFF" originated in Germany during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "kruft," meaning a pit or underground cellar, possibly referring to a person's occupation or place of residence near such a structure.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the region of Brandenburg, Germany, dating back to the year 1347. In this record, a man named "Johannes Cruft" is mentioned in relation to a land transaction.

In the 15th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as "Crufft" and "Krufft," in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony. During this time, the name was also associated with certain place names, such as "Crufften" in the Rhineland-Palatinate region.

One notable bearer of the name was Hans Cruff, a German merchant and trader who lived in the 16th century (c. 1520-1587). He is recorded as having established trade routes between Germany and the Netherlands, contributing to the economic prosperity of his hometown of Nuremberg.

In the 17th century, the name spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and England. One of the earliest recorded instances in England is that of William Cruff, who was born in London in 1632 and served as a member of the city's guild of merchants.

Another notable figure was Johann Cruff (1692-1766), a German composer and organist who was renowned for his contributions to sacred music during the Baroque period. His works were widely performed in churches throughout Germany and Austria.

In the 18th century, the name appeared in various records across Europe, including the baptismal records of the parish of St. Mary's in Dublin, Ireland, where a child named "Margaret Cruff" was baptized in 1745.

As the name spread further, it also developed various spelling variations, such as "Cruffe" and "Cruffe," reflecting regional pronunciation differences and the influence of different languages.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cruff

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cruff, 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!