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

Riffle, 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 Riffle surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Riffle in America

Riffle is the 6253rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Riffle surname appeared 5,461 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Riffle.

We can also compare 2010 data for Riffle 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 Riffle

The surname Riffle is believed to have originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "riffeln," which means "to groove" or "to flute." This suggests that the name may have been associated with an occupation or trade related to carpentry or woodworking.

The earliest known record of the name Riffle dates back to the 15th century in the Rhineland region of Germany. It was often spelled as "Riffel" or "Ryffel" in historical documents from that era.

In the 16th century, the name Riffle began to appear in various town and village records across southern Germany, particularly in the areas of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. This indicates that families bearing this surname had started to spread out and establish themselves in different regions.

One notable individual from this time period was Johann Riffle, a master carpenter who lived in the town of Freiburg im Breisgau in the late 1500s. His skills in woodworking and construction were highly regarded, and he was commissioned to work on several notable buildings in the region.

By the 17th century, the Riffle surname had also made its way into Switzerland, where it was primarily concentrated in the German-speaking cantons. There are records of a family named Riffle living in the city of Basel during this time.

In the 18th century, several Riffle families began to emigrate from Germany and Switzerland to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. One such individual was Hans Riffle, who was born in 1712 in the village of Gaildorf, in what is now the state of Baden-Württemberg. He later moved to Pennsylvania, where he and his descendants became prominent farmers and landowners.

Another notable figure with the Riffle surname was Johann Gottfried Riffle, a German-born artist and engraver who lived from 1755 to 1824. He was best known for his intricate engravings of landscapes and architectural works, many of which can be found in museums and private collections across Europe.

Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Riffle name continued to spread across various parts of the world, particularly in North America and other regions with significant German and Swiss immigration. While the name may have originated from a specific occupation or trade, it has since become a well-established surname with a rich historical legacy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Riffle

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

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

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

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