2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Hauffe
A German surname derived from the Old High German word "hoh" meaning "high" or "tall."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 146 Americans carry the last name Hauffe. That puts it at #136,807 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,347,632 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hauffe 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
146
1 in 2,347,632
Census rank
#136,807
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
127
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 127 bearers of the surname Hauffe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 136807th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hauffe, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hauffe
The surname "HAUFFE" is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages, specifically the 14th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Hesse, Germany, and may have been derived from the Old German word "haufe," meaning "heap" or "pile."
In its earliest iterations, the surname was often spelled as "Haufen" or "Hauffe," and was likely used to identify individuals who lived near a notable heap or pile, such as a mound or hill. This practice of deriving surnames from geographical features or occupations was common during that era.
One of the earliest recorded references to the surname "HAUFFE" can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus," a collection of historical documents from the 14th century. In this text, a certain "Johannes Hauffe" is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Marburg, Hesse, around the year 1380.
During the 16th century, the surname "HAUFFE" began to appear in various town records and church registers across central and southern Germany. Notable examples include Hans Hauffe, a woodcarver born in Nuremberg in 1512, and Katharina Hauffe, a midwife from Bamberg who lived in the late 1500s.
As the centuries progressed, members of the Hauffe family spread across Germany and into neighboring regions, with some even emigrating to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. One notable figure was Johann Georg Hauffe, a German-American entrepreneur born in 1785 in Württemberg, who later founded a successful brewing company in Philadelphia.
In the 19th century, the surname "HAUFFE" gained recognition through the work of writer and mystic Friederike Hauffe, also known as "The Seeress of Prevorst." Born in 1801 in the town of Prevorst, Württemberg, Friederike Hauffe's alleged clairvoyant experiences and supernatural encounters were documented by philosopher Justinus Kerner, sparking widespread interest in her life and beliefs.
Another prominent individual with the surname "HAUFFE" was Carl Friedrich Hauffe, a German botanist and naturalist born in 1828 in Saxony. Hauffe made significant contributions to the study of plant life in Central Europe and published several influential works on the subject.
In more recent history, the name "HAUFFE" has been associated with individuals such as Hermann Hauffe, a German-American architect born in 1904 in Berlin, who designed several notable buildings in New York City during the mid-20th century, and Ingrid Hauffe, a German actress and singer born in 1938, who gained popularity in the 1960s and 1970s for her roles in various television and film productions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hauffe
Among Census respondents with the surname Hauffe, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Hauffe 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 Hauffe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 3
- Two or more races2.4% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hauffe
Hauffe 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
+1 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,652 places
2020
#136,807
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
+4 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 358 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 7,652 places |
| 2020 | #136,807 | 127 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 358 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 Hauffe 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 | #136,449 | #136,807 | -0.3% |
| Count | 123 | 127 | 3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hauffe bearers went from 123 to 127 (+3.3% change). The surname moved down 358 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #136,807.
FAQ
Hauffe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hauffe?
Name Census estimates that about 146 living Americans carry the surname Hauffe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,347,632 residents.
How common is Hauffe?
Hauffe ranks #136,807 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 127 people with the surname Hauffe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (146), 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 Hauffe.
Has Hauffe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hauffe went from 123 recorded bearers to 127. That is an increase of 4 (+3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #136,807.
What does the Census say about the background of Hauffe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hauffe, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%). 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 Hauffe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hauffe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.2%), Hispanic (3.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%). 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 Hauffe (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 Hauffe mean?
A German surname derived from the Old High German word "hoh" meaning "high" or "tall." 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 Hauffe (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 are called Hauffe?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Hauffe, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.