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

Gaffke, 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 Gaffke surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gaffke in America

Gaffke is the 60790th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gaffke surname appeared 331 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 Gaffke.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gaffke 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 Gaffke

The surname GAFFKE is of German origin, deriving from the Low German word "gaff" meaning "fork" or "pitchfork." It likely originated in northern Germany or the neighboring regions of the Netherlands and Denmark during the medieval period.

The earliest recorded instances of the name GAFFKE can be traced back to the 15th century in various German parish records and municipal documents. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Hans Gaffke, a farmer from the village of Dithmarschen in Holstein, who was mentioned in a land registry from 1482.

In the 16th century, the name GAFFKE appeared in the records of the Free Imperial City of Bremen, where it was sometimes spelled as "Gafke" or "Gaffken." A notable figure from this period was Johann Gaffke, a merchant and alderman in Bremen, who lived from 1525 to 1592.

The GAFFKE surname is also found in old Dutch records, particularly in the province of Friesland, where it was sometimes rendered as "Gaffka" or "Gafka." One example is Pieter Gaffka, a farmer from the village of Leeuwarden, who was mentioned in a land registry from 1618.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, bearers of the GAFFKE name began to migrate to other parts of Europe and the Americas. In 1712, a family named Gaffke settled in the town of Kulm, in what is now Poland, where they became prominent landowners and merchants.

Another notable individual was Johann Friedrich Gaffke, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1767 to 1849. He was a professor at the University of Giessen and authored several works on moral philosophy and ethics.

In the 19th century, the GAFFKE surname spread further across Europe and the Americas due to increased migration and industrialization. One example is Carl Gaffke, a German-American engineer and inventor who lived from 1861 to 1936. He is credited with developing some of the earliest designs for diesel engines and held several patents related to internal combustion engines.

While the GAFFKE surname is still relatively uncommon, it can be found in various parts of the world today, particularly in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and the United States, where it was brought by German and Dutch immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gaffke

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

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

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

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