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

Nolf, 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 Nolf surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nolf in America

Nolf is the 35395th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nolf surname appeared 636 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Nolf.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nolf 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 Nolf

The surname Nolf originated in Belgium and is believed to have derived from the Dutch word "knol," which means "knoll" or "small hill." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or on a small hill.

The earliest known record of the Nolf surname dates back to the 13th century in the region of Flanders, Belgium. In the medieval period, the name was often spelled as "Cnol" or "Cnolf," reflecting the Dutch pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time.

One of the earliest documented instances of the Nolf surname can be found in the "Gouden Legende," a Middle Dutch manuscript from the late 13th century, which mentions a person named "Jan Cnol." This provides evidence of the name's existence and usage during that period.

In the 15th century, the name appeared in various records from the city of Ghent, in the form of "Noel Cnolf" and "Janne Cnolf." These entries suggest that the surname had already gained prominence in urban areas of Belgium by that time.

As the surname spread and evolved, it took on different spellings, such as "Nolff" and "Nolfe," before eventually settling on the modern form "Nolf." This was likely influenced by the standardization of spelling conventions in the Dutch language.

One notable individual bearing the Nolf surname was Jan Nolf (1573-1644), a Flemish painter who was a member of the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke. His works, which included religious and historical scenes, can still be found in various museums and churches in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Another prominent figure was Pieter Nolf (1608-1673), a Flemish mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of spherical trigonometry and the calculation of planetary orbits.

In the 18th century, Louis Nolf (1731-1803) was a Belgian architect known for his work on several churches and public buildings in the city of Brussels, including the Church of St. Catherine and the Grand Hospice.

The 19th century saw the rise of Henri Nolf (1829-1901), a Belgian lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Justice and later as the President of the Belgian Senate.

More recently, Jean-Marie Nolf (1913-2009) was a renowned Belgian physicist and academic who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics and served as the rector of the University of Leuven.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nolf

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

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

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

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