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

Scalf, 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 Scalf surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Scalf in America

Scalf is the 9473rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scalf surname appeared 3,433 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 Scalf.

We can also compare 2010 data for Scalf 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 Scalf

The surname SCALF has its roots in England and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to have originated from the Old English word "scælf," meaning a sheltered place or a shed. This suggests that the name may have been derived from a topographic feature or a place name associated with such a location.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SCALF can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it appears as "Schalfe." This historical record was a survey of landholdings in England conducted during the reign of King Edward I.

Another early reference to the name SCALF can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327, where it is listed as "Scalffe." These rolls were tax records maintained by the English government, indicating that individuals bearing this surname were already established in various parts of the country by the 14th century.

In the 16th century, the surname SCALF appeared in the Parish Registers of Lincolnshire, which document births, marriages, and deaths within local parishes. One notable individual from this time period was John Scalf, born in 1562 in Grimsby, Lincolnshire.

The SCALF surname has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Scalf End in Derbyshire and Scalf Hill in Yorkshire. These place names may have influenced the spelling variations and regional distributions of the surname over time.

Among the notable individuals bearing the surname SCALF throughout history are:

1. William Scalf (1627-1692), an English merchant and landowner who settled in Virginia, USA.
2. Thomas Scalf (1745-1821), an American soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War.
3. Elizabeth Scalf (1785-1862), an early settler in Illinois and one of the first women to cross the Mississippi River into the state.
4. John Scalf (1810-1887), a prominent farmer and landowner in Kentucky.
5. Samuel Scalf (1832-1916), a Union soldier during the American Civil War and later a successful businessman in Ohio.

While the surname SCALF may have undergone various spelling changes and regional variations over the centuries, its origins can be traced back to the English countryside, where it likely originated as a descriptive name related to a sheltered or shed-like location.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Scalf

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

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

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

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