2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Millhoff
A German surname possibly derived from a location or topographic feature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Millhoff. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Millhoff 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Millhoff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Millhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Black (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Millhoff
The surname Millhoff has its origins in the German language, with the earliest records dating back to the late 16th century in the region of Bavaria. The name is derived from the German words "Mühl" meaning "mill" and "hof" meaning "courtyard" or "farmstead". This suggests that the name originally referred to someone who lived or worked near a mill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Millhoff appears in the church records of the town of Augsburg in 1587, where a Johann Millhoff is listed as a miller. This indicates that the name was likely associated with the occupation of milling grain during that time period.
In the 17th century, the Millhoff name can be found in various records from the regions of Franconia and Swabia, which were part of the Holy Roman Empire. The spelling variations of the name included Müllhoff, Mülhoff, and Milhoff.
A notable individual bearing the Millhoff name was Hans Millhoff, a successful merchant and landowner who lived in the city of Nuremberg in the late 1600s. He is mentioned in several historical documents related to trade and property ownership in the region.
Another individual of note was Johann Georg Millhoff, a scholar and theologian from Würzburg, who lived from 1715 to 1783. He authored several works on religious philosophy and was a respected figure in academic circles of his time.
In the 19th century, the Millhoff name appeared in various parts of Germany, with some members of the family emigrating to other parts of Europe and the United States. One such individual was Wilhelm Millhoff, a watchmaker born in Stuttgart in 1822, who later settled in the city of Philadelphia in the 1860s.
Other notable individuals with the Millhoff surname include Karl Millhoff, a German artist and painter active in the early 20th century, and Heinrich Millhoff, a German politician and member of the Reichstag in the 1930s.
While the Millhoff name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, with descendants bearing the name residing in various countries. However, the name remains relatively uncommon, and its origins can be traced back to the mills and farmsteads of Bavaria and surrounding regions in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Millhoff
Among Census respondents with the surname Millhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Black (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Millhoff 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 Millhoff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 100
- Two or more races6.4% · 7
- Black or African American2.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Millhoff
Millhoff 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-19 bearers (-15.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 27,369 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+4 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,323 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -19 bearers (-15.2%) | Down 27,369 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.8%) | Up 4,323 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 Millhoff 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 | #153,769 | #149,446 | 2.8% |
| Count | 106 | 110 | 3.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Millhoff bearers went from 106 to 110 (+3.8% change). The surname moved up 4,323 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #149,446.
FAQ
Millhoff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Millhoff?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Millhoff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Millhoff?
Millhoff ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Millhoff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Millhoff.
Has Millhoff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Millhoff went from 106 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 4 (+3.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Millhoff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Millhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.4%) and Black (2.7%). 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 Millhoff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Millhoff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (6.4%), Black (2.7%). 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 Millhoff (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 Millhoff mean?
A German surname possibly derived from a location or topographic feature. 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 Millhoff (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 Millhoff?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Millhoff, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.