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

Huffman, 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 Huffman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Huffman in America

Huffman is the 674th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Huffman surname appeared 50,786 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 17 people would have the surname Huffman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Huffman 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 Huffman

The surname Huffman originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the German word "Hufschmied," which translates to "blacksmith" or "farrier," and was likely an occupational surname for those who worked as blacksmiths or shoed horses.

The name Huffman can be traced back to various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg. In these areas, variations of the name appeared in historical records, such as Huffmann, Huffman, and Hufmann.

One of the earliest documented references to the name Huffman can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Kirchheim unter Teck in Württemberg, dated 1578. These records mention a Hans Huffman, who was a local blacksmith.

As the name spread throughout Germany and beyond, it evolved into various spellings and pronunciations. In the 18th century, several Huffman families emigrated from Germany to the American colonies, where the name took on a more Anglicized form.

Among the notable individuals bearing the surname Huffman throughout history are Johann Huffman (1639-1703), a German Lutheran theologian and author; David Huffman (1925-1999), an American computer scientist known for developing the Huffman coding algorithm; and Felicity Huffman (born 1962), an American actress best known for her role in the television series "Desperate Housewives."

Other notable Huffmans include Jasper Huffman (1788-1855), an American politician and farmer who served in the Virginia House of Delegates; Ella Huffman (1870-1939), an American educator and suffragist; and John Huffman (1932-2008), an American baseball player who played for the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians in the 1950s.

Despite its German origins, the surname Huffman has become well-established in various parts of the world, particularly in the United States, where it continues to be a common surname among families of German descent.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Huffman

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!