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

Scaife, 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 Scaife surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Scaife in America

Scaife is the 15418th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scaife surname appeared 1,900 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Scaife.

We can also compare 2010 data for Scaife 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 Scaife

The surname Scaife originated in England, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse word "skeif," which means a stretch of land or a ridge, or the Old English word "sceaf," meaning a sheaf or bundle of grain. This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near a ridge or worked on a farm.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Robert de Scayf, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1199. The name also appeared in various spellings, such as Schayfe, Scheyfe, and Scayfe, in medieval records across northern England.

In the 13th century, the Scaife surname was found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire, where it was spelled as Scheyfe. This record from 1273 suggests that the name had spread to other parts of the country by that time.

The Scaifes were particularly prominent in Yorkshire, where they owned lands and held positions of importance. One notable figure was Thomas Scaife, who served as the Mayor of Leeds in 1619. Another was Sir Henry Scaife, a wealthy landowner and merchant from Hull, who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

During the English Civil War, a Royalist officer named John Scaife fought for King Charles I and was involved in the defense of York in 1644. He later immigrated to Virginia, becoming one of the earliest Scaifes in North America.

In the 18th century, a prominent member of the family was Richard Scaife (1732-1806), a successful merchant and landowner from Yorkshire. He was known for his philanthropic works and donated funds for the establishment of schools in his hometown.

The Scaife name also gained recognition in the literary world with the poet and writer John Scaife (1789-1845), who was born in Yorkshire and wrote several works on local history and folklore.

Throughout its history, the Scaife surname has been associated with various places in northern England, particularly in Yorkshire. Some examples include Scaife Hill, a location near the town of Boroughbridge, and Scaife Abbey, which was a former monastery near Wetherby.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Scaife

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

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

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

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