2000
#6,398
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,904
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.82
Rare Last name
Scharf
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a sharp or keen person, or someone with a bold character.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,398 Americans carry the last name Scharf. That puts it at #6,877 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 63,497 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Scharf 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
5.4K
1 in 63,497
Census rank
#6,877
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,707 bearers of the surname Scharf in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6877th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Scharf, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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 In the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, there are entries mentioning individuals with the surname Scharf as early as the year 1292.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Scharf
Among Census respondents with the surname Scharf, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Scharf 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 Scharf surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 4,406
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 127
- Two or more races2.4% · 114
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 32
- Black or African American0.4% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Scharf
Scharf 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
#6,864
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,901
-3 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 1.66
Rank movement Down 466 places
2020
#6,877
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,707
-194 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.57
Rank movement Down 13 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,398 | 4,904 | 1.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,864 | 4,901 | 1.66 | -3 bearers (-0.1%) | Down 466 places |
| 2020 | #6,877 | 4,707 | 1.57 | -194 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 13 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 Scharf 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 | #6,864 | #6,877 | -0.2% |
| Count | 4,901 | 4,707 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.66 | 1.57 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Scharf bearers went from 4,901 to 4,707 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 13 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,864 to #6,877.
FAQ
Scharf surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Scharf?
Name Census estimates that about 5,398 living Americans carry the surname Scharf. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 63,497 residents.
How common is Scharf?
Scharf ranks #6,877 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,707 people with the surname Scharf. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,398), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Scharf.
Has Scharf become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Scharf went from 4,901 recorded bearers to 4,707. That is a decrease of 194 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,864 to #6,877.
What does the Census say about the background of Scharf?
Among Census respondents with the surname Scharf, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Scharf in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (4,406 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Scharf appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Scharf (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 Scharf mean?
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a sharp or keen person, or someone with a bold character. 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 Scharf (1.57 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 have the last name Scharf?
If you just want to know how common the surname Scharf is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.