2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Schafhauser
A locational surname referring to someone from the city of Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Schafhauser. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schafhauser 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Schafhauser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schafhauser, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schafhauser
The surname Schafhauser is of German origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the German words "schaf" meaning sheep and "hausen" meaning to live or dwell, suggesting the name originated from a location where sheep were raised or herded.
In the Middle Ages, the name Schafhauser was found in various parts of southern Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in a 1273 manuscript from the town of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, where a certain "Johannes Schafhauser" is mentioned.
The name Schafhauser is also closely tied to the city of Schaffhausen, located near the German-Swiss border. It is believed that some individuals who hailed from this city adopted the surname Schafhauser, which later spread to other parts of Europe.
In the 14th century, a notable figure named Heinrich Schafhauser (c. 1310-1385) was a prominent merchant and city councilor in the Free Imperial City of Frankfurt am Main. His descendants continued to use the surname, further establishing its presence in the region.
During the 16th century, Johannes Schafhauser (1515-1578) was a Lutheran theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He served as a professor at the University of Tübingen and authored several influential works on theology.
Another individual of historical significance was Johann Caspar Schafhauser (1774-1834), a Swiss engineer and inventor. He is credited with developing one of the earliest mechanical calculators, known as the "Schafhauser Rechenmaschine" (Schafhauser Calculating Machine).
In the 19th century, Philipp Schafhauser (1824-1899) was a German architect who designed several notable buildings in his native city of Mainz, including the Mainzer Hauptbahnhof (Mainz Central Station) and the Mainzer Christuskirche (Mainz Christ Church).
The surname Schafhauser has also been associated with notable individuals in more recent times, such as the 20th-century German painter and graphic artist Theodor Schafhauser (1904-1980), whose works were exhibited in various galleries across Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schafhauser
Among Census respondents with the surname Schafhauser, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Schafhauser 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 Schafhauser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 99
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schafhauser
Schafhauser 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
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
+4 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,579 places
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-6 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 1,098 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 5,579 places |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 1,098 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 Schafhauser 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 | #154,907 | #156,005 | -0.7% |
| Count | 105 | 99 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schafhauser bearers went from 105 to 99 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 1,098 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #156,005.
FAQ
Schafhauser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schafhauser?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Schafhauser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Schafhauser?
Schafhauser ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Schafhauser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Schafhauser.
Has Schafhauser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schafhauser went from 105 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #154,907 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Schafhauser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schafhauser, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Schafhauser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schafhauser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Schafhauser (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 Schafhauser mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from the city of Schaffhausen, Switzerland. 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 Schafhauser (0.03 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 common is the surname Schafhauser?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Schafhauser is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.