2000
#5,947
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,328
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.98
Rare Last name
Riffle
A surname derived from the German word "riffel," meaning a groove or channel, likely referring to a geographical feature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,836 Americans carry the last name Riffle. That puts it at #6,423 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 58,731 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Riffle 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
5.8K
1 in 58,731
Census rank
#6,423
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,089 bearers of the surname Riffle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6423rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Riffle, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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 It was often spelled as "Riffel" or "Ryffel" in historical documents from that era.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Riffle
Among Census respondents with the surname Riffle, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Riffle 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 Riffle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 4,715
- Two or more races3.9% · 200
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 101
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 36
- Black or African American0.5% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Riffle
Riffle 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
#6,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,461
+133 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 1.85
Rank movement Down 306 places
2020
#6,423
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,089
-372 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 1.70
Rank movement Down 170 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,947 | 5,328 | 1.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,253 | 5,461 | 1.85 | +133 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 306 places |
| 2020 | #6,423 | 5,089 | 1.70 | -372 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 170 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 Riffle 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 | #6,253 | #6,423 | -2.7% |
| Count | 5,461 | 5,089 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.85 | 1.70 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Riffle bearers went from 5,461 to 5,089 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 170 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,253 to #6,423.
FAQ
Riffle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Riffle?
Name Census estimates that about 5,836 living Americans carry the surname Riffle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 58,731 residents.
How common is Riffle?
Riffle ranks #6,423 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,089 people with the surname Riffle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,836), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Riffle.
Has Riffle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Riffle went from 5,461 recorded bearers to 5,089. That is a decrease of 372 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,253 to #6,423.
What does the Census say about the background of Riffle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Riffle, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Riffle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (4,715 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Riffle 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 (3.9%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Riffle (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 Riffle mean?
A surname derived from the German word "riffel," meaning a groove or channel, likely referring to a geographical feature. 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 Riffle (1.70 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 share the surname Riffle?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.