2000
#15,340
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,759
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.65
Rare Last name
Efird
A variant spelling of the German surname Eifrid, meaning "prosperous protector".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,947 Americans carry the last name Efird. That puts it at #16,434 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 176,042 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Efird 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
1.9K
1 in 176,042
Census rank
#16,434
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,698 bearers of the surname Efird in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16434th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Efird, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Efird
The surname Efird has its origins in Germany, where it was derived from the Old High German name Eburhard. This name is composed of the elements "ebur," meaning "boar," and "hard," meaning "hardy" or "brave." The name first emerged in the 8th or 9th century AD.
In its earliest recorded form, the name was spelled as Eburhard or Eburhart. Over time, it evolved into various spellings, such as Efert, Effert, and Efird, as it spread across different regions of Germany and into neighboring countries.
One of the earliest known references to the name Efird can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the region of Anhalt in present-day Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. This codex contains records dating back to the 12th century, which mention individuals with the surname Efird or its variants.
In the 14th century, a nobleman named Johannes Efird was recorded as residing in the town of Essen, located in the Ruhr region of present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was a prominent figure in the local community and is believed to have played a role in the town's governance.
During the 16th century, a notable individual named Hans Efird (1520-1589) was a successful merchant and trader in the city of Augsburg, which was a major commercial center in southern Germany at the time.
In the 17th century, a scholar and theologian named Georg Efird (1623-1697) gained recognition for his contributions to the field of Protestant theology. He served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg and published several influential works.
Another notable figure with the surname Efird was Johann Friedrich Efird (1682-1756), a German composer and organist who was active in the early 18th century. He composed several works for the church and is considered an important figure in the development of Baroque music in Germany.
These are just a few examples of individuals with the surname Efird who have left their mark throughout history. The name has been present in various regions of Germany and has a long and rich heritage, with its origins dating back to the early medieval period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Efird
Among Census respondents with the surname Efird, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Efird 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 Efird surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 1,601
- Two or more races3.2% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 6
- Black or African American0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Efird
Efird 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
#16,179
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,786
+27 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 839 places
2020
#16,434
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,698
-88 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.57
Rank movement Down 255 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,340 | 1,759 | 0.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,179 | 1,786 | 0.61 | +27 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 839 places |
| 2020 | #16,434 | 1,698 | 0.57 | -88 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 255 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 Efird 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 | #16,179 | #16,434 | -1.6% |
| Count | 1,786 | 1,698 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.61 | 0.57 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Efird bearers went from 1,786 to 1,698 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 255 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,179 to #16,434.
FAQ
Efird surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Efird?
Name Census estimates that about 1,947 living Americans carry the surname Efird. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 176,042 residents.
How common is Efird?
Efird ranks #16,434 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,698 people with the surname Efird. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,947), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Efird.
Has Efird become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Efird went from 1,786 recorded bearers to 1,698. That is a decrease of 88 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #16,179 to #16,434.
What does the Census say about the background of Efird?
Among Census respondents with the surname Efird, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (1.5%). 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 Efird in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (1,601 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Efird appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (1.5%). 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 Efird (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 Efird mean?
A variant spelling of the German surname Eifrid, meaning "prosperous protector". 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 Efird (0.57 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 Americans have the surname Efird?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.