2000
#91,004
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 188
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Harff
A German surname potentially derived from a place name or a variant of the name "Harff."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 190 Americans carry the last name Harff. That puts it at #112,515 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,803,970 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Harff 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
190
1 in 1,803,970
Census rank
#112,515
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
166
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 166 bearers of the surname Harff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 112515th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Harff, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Harff
The surname HARFF is of German origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Westphalia, located in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name is derived from the Old German word "harf," which means "sharp" or "pointed," and was likely initially used as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a sharp or pointed hill or cliff.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Wormser Urkunden, a collection of historical documents from the city of Worms, Germany, dating back to the 13th century. In these documents, a person named "Hermannus Harff" is mentioned as a witness to a legal transaction in the year 1256.
During the 14th century, the name appears in various records from the town of Soest, located in the former Duchy of Westphalia. In one manuscript from 1342, a "Gerhardus Harff" is listed as a landowner in the town.
In the 15th century, the name gained prominence with the travels of Arnold von Harff, a German knight and traveler born around 1471 in Cologne. He embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land between 1496 and 1498, documenting his journey in a detailed travelogue known as "Die Pilgerfahrt des Ritters Arnold von Harff." This work provides valuable insights into the culture, customs, and geography of the regions he visited.
Another notable bearer of the surname was Johann Harff, a German painter active in the 16th century. He was born in Nuremberg around 1510 and is known for his religious paintings and altarpieces, some of which can still be found in churches and museums across Germany.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various records from the town of Münster, located in the former Prince-Bishopric of Münster. One such record mentions a "Bernhard Harff," who served as a councilman in the city in the year 1632.
During the 18th century, the HARFF surname can be found in historical documents from the city of Cologne, where a "Johann Wilhelm Harff" is recorded as a merchant and member of the city's guild in 1742.
These examples illustrate the long-standing presence of the HARFF surname in various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Westphalia and the Rhineland. While the name may have originated as a descriptive term, it has since become a well-established surname with a rich history spanning several centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harff
Among Census respondents with the surname Harff, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Harff 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 Harff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.0% · 156
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 3
- Two or more races1.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 2
- Black or African American0.6% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Harff
Harff 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
#101,247
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 178
-10 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 10,243 places
2020
#112,515
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 166
-12 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 11,268 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #91,004 | 188 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #101,247 | 178 | 0.06 | -10 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 10,243 places |
| 2020 | #112,515 | 166 | 0.06 | -12 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 11,268 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 Harff 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 | #101,247 | #112,515 | -11.1% |
| Count | 178 | 166 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.06 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Harff bearers went from 178 to 166 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 11,268 positions in the national ranking, going from #101,247 to #112,515.
FAQ
Harff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Harff?
Name Census estimates that about 190 living Americans carry the surname Harff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,803,970 residents.
How common is Harff?
Harff ranks #112,515 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 166 people with the surname Harff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (190), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Harff.
Has Harff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Harff went from 178 recorded bearers to 166. That is a decrease of 12 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #101,247 to #112,515.
What does the Census say about the background of Harff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Harff, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Harff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (156 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Harff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.0%), Hispanic (1.8%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Harff (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 Harff mean?
A German surname potentially derived from a place name or a variant of the name "Harff." 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 Harff (0.06 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 are called Harff?
Want to know how many people have the last name Harff? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.