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

Scharf, 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 Scharf surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Scharf in America

Scharf is the 6864th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scharf surname appeared 4,901 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Scharf.

We can also compare 2010 data for Scharf 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 Scharf

The surname Scharf has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "scharf," which means "sharp" or "keen." This likely suggests that the name was initially given as a nickname or descriptive name to someone who was sharp-witted or had a keen intellect.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Scharf date back to the 13th century, appearing in various German records and documents. In the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, there are entries mentioning individuals with the surname Scharf as early as the year 1292.

One notable historical figure bearing the name Scharf was Johann Scharf, a German theologian and reformer who lived from 1595 to 1660. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation and was a prominent figure in the city of Nürnberg.

Another individual of note was Georg Scharf, a German-born artist and lithographer who lived from 1788 to 1860. He was renowned for his landscape paintings and contributions to the art of lithography.

In the 19th century, the surname Scharf was also found in various regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. One such individual was Josef Scharf, an Austrian-born composer and conductor who lived from 1819 to 1900. He composed several operas and orchestral works and was highly regarded in his time.

Moving to more recent history, there was also Max Scharf, a German-born American composer and pianist who lived from 1907 to 1986. He was known for his contributions to modern classical music and his works for piano and chamber ensembles.

Finally, the name Scharf can be traced back to places like Scharfenberg, a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, which likely derived its name from the same linguistic root as the surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Scharf

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!