2000
#10,046
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,959
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.10
Rare Last name
Peiffer
A German occupational surname referring to a piper or flute player.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,251 Americans carry the last name Peiffer. That puts it at #10,750 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 105,430 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Peiffer 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
3.3K
1 in 105,430
Census rank
#10,750
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,835 bearers of the surname Peiffer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10750th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Peiffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Peiffer
Among Census respondents with the surname Peiffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Peiffer 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 Peiffer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 2,628
- Two or more races3.1% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 74
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 21
- Black or African American0.5% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Peiffer
Peiffer 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
#10,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,938
-21 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 791 places
2020
#10,750
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,835
-103 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Up 87 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,046 | 2,959 | 1.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,837 | 2,938 | 1.00 | -21 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 791 places |
| 2020 | #10,750 | 2,835 | 0.95 | -103 bearers (-3.5%) | Up 87 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 Peiffer 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 | #10,837 | #10,750 | 0.8% |
| Count | 2,938 | 2,835 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.00 | 0.95 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Peiffer bearers went from 2,938 to 2,835 (-3.5% change). The surname moved up 87 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,837 to #10,750.
FAQ
Peiffer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Peiffer?
Name Census estimates that about 3,251 living Americans carry the surname Peiffer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 105,430 residents.
How common is Peiffer?
Peiffer ranks #10,750 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.95 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,835 people with the surname Peiffer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,251), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.95 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Peiffer.
Has Peiffer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Peiffer went from 2,938 recorded bearers to 2,835. That is a decrease of 103 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,837 to #10,750.
What does the Census say about the background of Peiffer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Peiffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Peiffer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (2,628 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Peiffer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Peiffer (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 Peiffer mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a piper or flute player. 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 Peiffer (0.95 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 have the last name Peiffer?
Find out how many people are called Peiffer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.