Nulf last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Nulf

A habitational surname derived from a place name.

Nulf, 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 Nulf surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nulf in America

Nulf is the 61436th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nulf surname appeared 327 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 Nulf.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nulf 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 61436 59293 3.55%
Count 327 319 2.48%
Proportion per 100k 0.11 0.12 -8.70%

The history of the last name Nulf

The surname NULF originated in Germany in the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "nulf," which referred to a type of small insect or beetle. This name may have been initially used as a nickname or descriptor for someone with a small stature or someone who exhibited insect-like characteristics.

The earliest known record of the name NULF appears in a manuscript from the town of Cologne, dated around 1180. This document mentions a person named Henricus Nulf, who was a member of a local guild of artisans.

In the 13th century, variations of the name, such as Nulfe and Nulff, began appearing in various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around the Rhine River. One notable individual from this period was Johannes Nulf, a scholar and scribe who was born in Mainz in 1245 and is credited with transcribing several important manuscripts during his lifetime.

The name NULF gained wider recognition in the 14th century when a prominent German family adopted it as their surname. This family, known as the Nulfs, originated from the town of Heidelberg and played a significant role in the local government and politics of the region.

One of the most famous individuals bearing the name NULF was Konrad Nulf, a German knight who lived in the 15th century. Konrad was a respected military leader and participated in several important battles during the Hussite Wars, which took place in the first half of the 15th century.

Another noteworthy person with the surname NULF was Anna Nulf, a German writer and poet who lived in the 16th century. Anna's works were widely acclaimed during her lifetime and helped to popularize the use of the German language in literature at a time when Latin was still the predominant language used by scholars and writers.

As the centuries passed, the name NULF spread beyond Germany and could be found in various parts of Europe. In the 18th century, a family with the surname Nulf settled in the Netherlands, where they established a successful business trading in textiles and spices.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nulf

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

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 Nulf was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.33% 315
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.53% 5
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Nulf has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.33% 97.49% -1.20%
Black 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.53% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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

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

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"Nulf last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/nulf-surname-popularity/.

"Nulf last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/nulf-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Nulf last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/nulf-surname-popularity/.

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