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

Peiffer, 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 Peiffer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Peiffer in America

Peiffer is the 10837th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Peiffer surname appeared 2,938 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 Peiffer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Peiffer 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 Peiffer

The surname Peiffer originated in Germany and is derived from the German word "Pfeffer," which means "pepper." This name was likely an occupational name given to a pepper trader or someone involved in the spice trade during the Middle Ages.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Peiffer can be traced back to the 14th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and the Rhineland. Historical records from this period often spell the name in slightly different variations, such as Pfeffer, Pfeiffer, or Pfeifer.

One notable early reference to the name Peiffer can be found in the Heidelberg University matriculation records from the 15th century, where a student named Johannes Pfeffer is listed as enrolling in 1462.

The name Peiffer is also associated with several place names in Germany, such as Pfeifferingen, a town in Baden-Württemberg, and Pfeifferhütten, a village in Rhineland-Palatinate. These place names likely originated from the presence of individuals with the surname Peiffer in those areas.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the surname Peiffer. One such individual was Johann Peiffer (1508-1580), a German Protestant reformer and theologian who played a significant role in the Reformation movement in the city of Nuremberg.

Another noteworthy figure was Johann Gottfried Peiffer (1765-1834), a German astronomer and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the calculation of comet orbits.

In the realm of literature, August Peiffer (1815-1888) was a German author and journalist who wrote several novels and plays, some of which were adapted for the stage during his lifetime.

The name Peiffer also has connections to the arts, with Friedrich Peiffer (1858-1937) being a renowned German painter and printmaker known for his landscape and genre works.

Lastly, Karl Peiffer (1888-1957) was a German politician and trade unionist who served as the President of the Confederation of German Trade Unions from 1952 until his death in 1957.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Peiffer

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

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

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

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