2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Haefling
Derived from the German word for "halfling" or "little person".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Haefling. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Haefling 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Haefling in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Haefling, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Haefling
The surname HAEFLING is of German origin, with roots that can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the word "Häffling," which referred to someone who lived near a harbor or port town. The name likely originated in the coastal regions of northern Germany, particularly in areas around the Baltic Sea and North Sea coasts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the HAEFLING surname can be found in the Hanseatic League records from the city of Lübeck in the late 13th century. The Hanseatic League was a powerful medieval commercial and defensive alliance of merchant guilds and market towns in central and northern Europe.
In the 14th century, the HAEFLING name appeared in various historical documents from the Duchy of Pomerania, a region along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea. The name was often spelled as "Heffling" or "Hefflinge" in these early records.
A notable early bearer of the HAEFLING name was Hans Heffling, a wealthy merchant and shipowner from the Hanseatic town of Rostock, who lived from approximately 1380 to 1445. His success in maritime trade and navigation played a significant role in establishing the HAEFLING family name in the region.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the HAEFLING surname spread to other parts of Germany, as well as to neighboring countries like the Netherlands and Denmark. Johannes Haefling (1556-1619), a German theologian and professor at the University of Rostock, was a prominent figure of this era.
In the 18th century, the HAEFLING name gained recognition with the birth of Carl Wilhelm Häfling (1753-1833), a renowned German composer and music theorist who made significant contributions to the development of musical notation and harmony.
Another notable bearer of the HAEFLING surname was August Häfling (1809-1877), a German-born American politician and businessman who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in the mid-19th century.
As the centuries progressed, the HAEFLING name continued to be found across various regions of Germany, with slight variations in spelling, such as "Häffling," "Heffling," and "Hefling." The name's connection to coastal areas and maritime activities persisted, with many HAEFLING families established in port cities and coastal towns throughout northern Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Haefling
Among Census respondents with the surname Haefling, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Haefling 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 Haefling surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.0% · 104
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Haefling
Haefling 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,744 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-3 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,457 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 9,744 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 1,457 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 Haefling 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 | #151,532 | #152,989 | -1.0% |
| Count | 108 | 105 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Haefling bearers went from 108 to 105 (-2.8% change). The surname moved down 1,457 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #152,989.
FAQ
Haefling surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Haefling?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Haefling. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Haefling?
Haefling ranks #152,989 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 105 people with the surname Haefling. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Haefling.
Has Haefling become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Haefling went from 108 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Haefling?
Among Census respondents with the surname Haefling, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Haefling in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.0% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Haefling appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Haefling (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 Haefling mean?
Derived from the German word for "halfling" or "little person". 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 Haefling (0.04 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 people have the surname Haefling?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.