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

Pfeiffer, 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 Pfeiffer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pfeiffer in America

Pfeiffer is the 2601st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pfeiffer surname appeared 13,851 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Pfeiffer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pfeiffer 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 Pfeiffer

The surname Pfeiffer originated in Germany and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "Pfeifer," which means "piper" or "flute player." This suggests that the name was initially given as an occupational surname to musicians or entertainers who played the pipe or flute.

In the 13th century, the name Pfeiffer appeared in various German town records and documents. For instance, a man named Heinrich Pfeiffer was mentioned in the records of the city of Erfurt in 1283. Another early record from 1321 refers to a Konrad Pfeiffer in Nuremberg.

The Pfeiffer name can also be found in some of the oldest German manuscripts and chronicles. One notable example is the mention of a Pfeiffer family in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of documents from the medieval Duchy of Saxony, dated around the 14th century.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, several individuals with the surname Pfeiffer gained recognition in various fields. One of the earliest was Johann Pfeiffer (1493-1520), a German theologian and reformer who supported Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation. Another notable figure was Augustin Pfeiffer (1640-1698), a German jurist and writer who authored several legal treatises.

In the 18th century, Johann Philipp Pfeiffer (1715-1788) was a German engraver and etcher known for his intricate landscape prints. Around the same time, Johann Gottlieb Pfeiffer (1726-1789) was a German botanist who made significant contributions to the study of tropical plants.

One of the most famous bearers of the Pfeiffer name was Ida Pfeiffer (1797-1858), an Austrian traveler and writer who became one of the first female explorers to circumnavigate the globe. Her published accounts of her journeys to various parts of the world, including the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, were widely read and celebrated during her lifetime.

As the name Pfeiffer spread across German-speaking regions, it also developed various regional spellings and variations, such as Pfeifer, Pfeyfer, and Pfeyffer. Some of these variations can be found in historical records from different parts of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pfeiffer

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

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

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

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