2000
#9,073
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,312
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.23
Rare Last name
Scalf
An occupational surname for a servant or slave, derived from the Old English word "scealf" meaning "servant."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,752 Americans carry the last name Scalf. That puts it at #9,503 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 91,352 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Scalf 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
3.8K
1 in 91,352
Census rank
#9,503
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,272 bearers of the surname Scalf in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9503rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Scalf, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Scalf
Among Census respondents with the surname Scalf, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Scalf 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 Scalf surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 3,017
- Two or more races4.0% · 130
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 84
- Black or African American0.8% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Scalf
Scalf 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
#9,473
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,433
+121 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 1.16
Rank movement Down 400 places
2020
#9,503
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,272
-161 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Down 30 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,073 | 3,312 | 1.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,473 | 3,433 | 1.16 | +121 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 400 places |
| 2020 | #9,503 | 3,272 | 1.09 | -161 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 30 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 Scalf 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 | #9,473 | #9,503 | -0.3% |
| Count | 3,433 | 3,272 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.16 | 1.09 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Scalf bearers went from 3,433 to 3,272 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 30 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,473 to #9,503.
FAQ
Scalf surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Scalf?
Name Census estimates that about 3,752 living Americans carry the surname Scalf. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 91,352 residents.
How common is Scalf?
Scalf ranks #9,503 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.09 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,272 people with the surname Scalf. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,752), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.09 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Scalf.
Has Scalf become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Scalf went from 3,433 recorded bearers to 3,272. That is a decrease of 161 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,473 to #9,503.
What does the Census say about the background of Scalf?
Among Census respondents with the surname Scalf, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Scalf in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (3,017 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Scalf appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Scalf (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 Scalf mean?
An occupational surname for a servant or slave, derived from the Old English word "scealf" meaning "servant." 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 Scalf (1.09 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 are called Scalf?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Scalf, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.