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

Huffer, 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 Huffer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Huffer in America

Huffer is the 12089th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Huffer surname appeared 2,578 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 Huffer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Huffer 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 Huffer

The surname HUFFER originated in Germany in the 14th century. It is believed to be an occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "huofer," meaning a hoof maker or farrier. The name was likely first adopted by individuals who worked as blacksmiths or farriers, responsible for shoeing horses and caring for their hooves.

The earliest recorded instance of the HUFFER surname can be traced back to a document from the city of Nuremberg, dated 1368. This document mentions a certain "Hans Huffer," who was a blacksmith by trade. The name also appears in various other medieval records and manuscripts from the regions of Bavaria and Franconia in southern Germany.

In the 16th century, the name HUFFER began to spread beyond Germany as people migrated to other parts of Europe. One notable example is Jan Huffer, a Dutch merchant born in Amsterdam in 1542, who established a successful trading company that exported goods to various parts of the world.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the HUFFER surname can be found in various records from different regions of Germany, including Saxony, Hesse, and Westphalia. One prominent figure from this period was Johann Huffer, a renowned clockmaker born in Nuremberg in 1687, whose intricate timepieces were highly sought after by nobility and wealthy patrons.

As people with the HUFFER surname migrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas, the spelling of the name evolved slightly. In some regions, it was spelled as "Hoeffer" or "Hoffer," reflecting the local dialect and pronunciation.

Other notable individuals with the HUFFER surname include Friedrich Huffer, a German philosopher and author born in 1792, who wrote extensively on ethics and moral philosophy. Another was Karl Huffer, a 19th-century German painter known for his landscape and genre scenes, born in 1824 in Düsseldorf.

Throughout its history, the HUFFER surname has been associated with various trades and professions, ranging from blacksmiths and farriers to merchants, clockmakers, and intellectuals. While its origins can be traced back to medieval Germany, the name has since spread across the world, reflecting the migration patterns and cultural influences of those who bore it.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Huffer

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

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

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

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