Schifter
An Ashkenazic Jewish occupational name derived from Yiddish for "boatman" or "ferryman".
According to the 2000 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 137 Americans carry the last name Schifter. That puts it at #139,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,501,856 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schifter 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.
Schifter appeared in the 2000 Census surname file but was not included in the published 2020 file. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames with at least 100 recorded bearers, so this usually means the name fell below that threshold.
Bearers in the US
137
1 in 2,501,856
Census rank
#139,757
2000 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Schifter in its 2000 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 139757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schifter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schifter
The surname Schifter likely originates from the German-speaking regions of Europe, particularly from areas that are now part of modern-day Germany and Austria. It is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, a time when surnames became necessary for administrative and legal purposes. The name Schifter could be derived from the Middle High German word "schiften," which means to shift or move. This term may have been used to describe a person who performed tasks involving shifting, managing, or arranging goods, possibly in a commercial or agricultural context.
One of the earliest instances of the name Schifter, or its variants, can be traced back to medieval German records from the 13th and 14th centuries. During this period, surnames were often reflective of one's occupation, and it is plausible that a Schifter was someone involved in the organization or transportation of goods. Variants of the name, such as Schiffer, share a similar etymology and support this occupational theory.
A noteworthy historical reference to the surname Schifter appears in a guild registry from the city of Frankfurt in 1482, where a Hans Schifter is listed as a merchant. This reference highlights the occupational nature of the surname and situates it firmly within the commercial life of a prominent city during the late medieval period.
Another significant figure with the surname Schifter is Jakob Schifter, who was born in Vienna in 1553 and became known for his work in the burgeoning field of printing. His contributions to the printing industry in Vienna during the late 16th century were instrumental in disseminating Reformation texts and other important works.
A third historical figure, Maria Schifter, born in 1621 in the town of Ulm, was one of the rare women to be recognized in tax records of her time. The Schifter family's increasing presence in different regions of the Holy Roman Empire during the 17th century suggests the surname gained prominence and wide dispersal.
In the 18th century, another member of the Schifter family, Johann Friedrich Schifter, born in 1730 in Nuremberg, made a name for himself as a respected musician and composer in the Baroque tradition. His compositions were well-regarded and performed in courts and churches across Bavaria.
Moving into the 19th century, a significant Schifter in history was Albert Schifter, born in 1804 in Leipzig. He was an industrialist and played a notable role in the early textile manufacturing boom within Saxony. His innovations in textile machinery and production processes were influential in the broader Industrial Revolution in Germany.
Overall, the surname Schifter is deeply rooted in the German-speaking parts of Europe, with its earliest uses linked to occupational roles in commerce and industry. Historical references and notable bearers of the name indicate a lineage of individuals who were involved in various economic and cultural activities from the medieval period through the modern era.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schifter
Among Census respondents with the surname Schifter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%.
The bar chart below shows how Schifter bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2000 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 Schifter surname at the time of the 2000 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6%
- Unknown or suppressed6.4%
FAQ
Schifter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schifter?
Name Census estimates that about 137 living Americans carry the surname Schifter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,501,856 residents.
How common is Schifter?
Schifter ranks #139,757 in the 2000 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 2000 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Schifter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (137), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Schifter.
Has Schifter become more or less common over time?
Schifter appears here with 2000 Census data. When additional surname-file years are available for this name, Name Census uses them to show longer-term movement in rank and bearer count.
What does the Census say about the background of Schifter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schifter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. These figures come from the 2000 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 Schifter in the 2000 Census, accounting for 93.6%.
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schifter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2000 file are White (93.6%).
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Not necessarily. Schifter appears here with 2000 Census data, while the latest surname file loaded on Name Census is 2020. When a surname drops below the Census publication threshold, older rows can still be kept for historical reference even if the name no longer appears in the newest file.
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 Schifter mean?
An Ashkenazic Jewish occupational name derived from Yiddish for "boatman" or "ferryman". 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 2000 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 Schifter (0.04 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 surname Schifter?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.