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

Giffin, 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 Giffin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Giffin in America

Giffin is the 8028th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Giffin surname appeared 4,124 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Giffin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Giffin 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 Giffin

The surname Giffin is believed to have originated in England during the Middle Ages. It is thought to be a variant of the Old English name "Giffrith," which was derived from the elements "gift" meaning "precious gift" and "rid" meaning "counsel."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Giffridus" and is listed among the landowners in Norfolk.

The name Giffin is also linked to various place names in England, such as Giffin Hill in Gloucestershire and Giffin Wood in Yorkshire. These place names likely originated from early settlers or landowners with the surname.

One notable individual with the surname Giffin was Sir Robert Giffin, a Scottish soldier and diplomat who lived during the 16th century (c. 1530-1592). He served under Mary, Queen of Scots, and later became an ambassador for King James VI of Scotland.

In the 17th century, Christopher Giffin (c. 1620-1690) was a prominent English sailor and navigator. He is best known for his voyages to the West Indies and his contributions to the development of navigation techniques.

Another individual of note was William Giffin (1732-1805), a British army officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. He fought in several major battles, including the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Long Island.

In the 19th century, Robert Giffin (1825-1899) was an Irish-born Canadian politician and businessman. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and was involved in various business ventures in the lumber and mining industries.

Mary Giffin (1854-1936) was a Canadian artist and educator who was known for her landscape paintings and her work as an art teacher in Toronto. She played a significant role in promoting the arts in Canada during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Giffin

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

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

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

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