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

Giffen, 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 Giffen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Giffen in America

Giffen is the 25115th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Giffen surname appeared 988 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 Giffen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Giffen 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 Giffen

The surname Giffen is of Scottish origin, derived from the Old English words "gif" meaning "to give" and "fen" meaning "a marsh or bog". This suggests that the name may have originated from a location or settlement near a marshy or boggy area.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Giffen can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which lists people who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. One such entry is "Johannes de Giffin", indicating that the name was present in Scotland in the late 13th century.

In the 16th century, the Giffen family was prominent in the parish of Beith, Ayrshire, Scotland. Records from this time period mention individuals such as John Giffen, who was a landowner in the area, and Robert Giffen, who was a prominent merchant.

The Giffen surname is also associated with the village of Giffen in North Ayrshire, Scotland. This village likely derived its name from the same origins as the surname, suggesting that the name may have originated from this location or a similar place name.

Notable individuals with the surname Giffen throughout history include:

1. Sir Robert Giffen (1837-1910), a Scottish statistician and economist who is credited with identifying the "Giffen paradox", a phenomenon in economics where demand for a good increases as its price rises.

2. Hubert van Giffen (1839-1904), a Dutch chemist and entrepreneur who founded the company that later became known as Philips Electronics.

3. Peyton C. Giffen (1879-1962), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma.

4. Archie Giffen (1904-1996), a Scottish footballer who played as a defender for Rangers F.C. and the Scottish national team in the 1920s and 1930s.

5. Bruce Giffen (born 1955), a Canadian actor and voice artist known for his work in animated series such as X-Men and Dragon Ball Z.

While the surname Giffen has its roots in Scotland, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and other English-speaking countries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Giffen

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

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

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

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