2010
#132,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Saff
A location surname derived from the river Saff in Scotland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Saff. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Saff 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Saff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Saff, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Black (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Saff
The surname SAFF originated in England during the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word 'sæf', meaning sea or ocean. This suggests that the name may have been initially given to individuals who lived near the coast or worked as sailors or fishermen.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SAFF surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where a person named Robert Saf is mentioned. This indicates that the name was already in use by the 12th century.
In the 13th century, the SAFF surname appeared in various regions of England, including Norfolk, Suffolk, and Lincolnshire. One notable example is Roger Saff, who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Norfolk in 1327.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England compiled in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the SAFF surname. However, it does mention several place names that may have influenced the development of the name, such as Safeld (Suffolk) and Saffordia (Staffordshire).
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the SAFF surname underwent several spelling variations, including Saffe, Saff, Saf, and Saffe. One notable individual from this period was John Saffe, a merchant from London who was involved in the cloth trade with the Netherlands in the late 16th century.
In the 18th century, the SAFF surname began to appear in various parts of the British Empire, as individuals with this name emigrated to colonies such as North America and Australia. One prominent figure from this era was William Saff (1720-1798), a British explorer and surveyor who mapped parts of the Australian coastline.
Other notable individuals with the SAFF surname include:
1. Sir Robert Saff (1839-1912), a British politician and Member of Parliament for West Ham from 1892 to 1906.
2. Elizabeth Saff (1878-1945), an American writer and poet known for her contributions to the Harlem Renaissance.
3. George Saff (1901-1979), a Canadian artist and painter renowned for his landscape paintings of the Canadian Rockies.
4. Michael Saff (born 1945), a British philosopher and academic who specializes in the works of Friedrich Nietzsche.
5. Sarah Saff (born 1982), an American professional tennis player who competed on the WTA Tour in the early 2000s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saff
Among Census respondents with the surname Saff, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Black (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Saff 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 Saff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.2% · 95
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 8
- Black or African American3.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Saff
Saff appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-19 bearers (-14.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,999 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #132,206 | 128 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -19 bearers (-14.8%) | Down 17,999 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 Saff 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 | #132,206 | #150,205 | -13.6% |
| Count | 128 | 109 | -14.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Saff bearers went from 128 to 109 (-14.8% change). The surname moved down 17,999 positions in the national ranking, going from #132,206 to #150,205.
FAQ
Saff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Saff?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Saff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Saff?
Saff ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 109 people with the surname Saff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Saff.
Has Saff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Saff went from 128 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 19 (-14.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #132,206 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Saff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Saff, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Black (3.7%). 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 Saff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Saff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.2%), Hispanic (7.3%), Black (3.7%). 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 Saff (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 Saff mean?
A location surname derived from the river Saff in Scotland. 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 Saff (0.04 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 Saff?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.