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

Scheff, 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 Scheff surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Scheff in America

Scheff is the 27845th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Scheff surname appeared 862 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Scheff.

We can also compare 2010 data for Scheff 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 Scheff

The surname SCHEFF has its origins in the German and Middle Low German languages. It is derived from the root word "schef" or "scheff", which means "sheaf" or "bundle of grain". This surname likely originated in the medieval period among Germanic-speaking regions, where it referred to individuals who worked as harvesters, farmers, or those involved in the agricultural trade.

During the Middle Ages, surnames were often occupational in nature, reflecting the bearer's profession or trade. The name SCHEFF could have been initially used to identify individuals who were responsible for gathering and bundling sheaves of grain during the harvest season. It may have also been associated with individuals who traded or sold grain or agricultural products.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname SCHEFF can be traced back to the 14th and 15th centuries in various regions of Germany and the Low Countries. One notable example is Johannes Scheff, a merchant and citizen of Lübeck, Germany, who was mentioned in historical records dating back to 1412.

In the 16th century, the surname SCHEFF appeared in various spellings, such as Scheff, Scheffe, and Scheffel, reflecting the regional variations in dialect and pronunciation. One notable bearer of this name was Johannes Scheffel (1534-1603), a German Protestant theologian and reformer from Saxony.

As the centuries progressed, the surname SCHEFF spread across German-speaking regions and beyond, with individuals bearing this name making contributions in various fields. For instance, Heinrich Theobald Schenk (1656-1727) was a prominent German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.

Another notable figure with the surname SCHEFF was Johann Georg Scheffner (1736-1820), a German historian and writer who authored several works on the history of Silesia and the city of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland).

In the 19th century, the surname SCHEFF was carried by individuals such as Carl Scheffler (1801-1870), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, and Wilhelm Scheffler (1835-1909), a German philosopher and writer who wrote under the pen name "Angelus Silesius".

It is worth noting that the surname SCHEFF has also been associated with various place names, such as Scheffau, a municipality in the Austrian state of Tyrol, and Scheffau am Wilden Kaiser, a village in the same region. These place names likely derived from the same root word and may have influenced the spread and usage of the surname in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Scheff

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

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

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

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