2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Scifers
A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from German "Schiefer" meaning slate worker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Scifers. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Scifers 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Scifers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Scifers, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Scifers
The surname SCIFERS is believed to have originated in Germany, possibly as early as the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Middle High German word "schiffer," which means "boatman" or "sailor." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to an individual who worked on boats or ships, either as a sailor or perhaps as a shipbuilder.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SCIFERS surname can be found in the Staatsarchiv Hamburg, a German state archive containing historical records from the city of Hamburg. Here, the name appears in a document dated 1387, which mentions a "Hans Schiffer" who was a merchant and ship owner.
In the 15th century, the name SCIFERS is also found in various records from the region of Bavaria, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. A notable individual from this period was Johann Schiefer, a master stonemason who was born in Nuremberg around 1460 and worked on several important architectural projects, including the Frauenkirche in Munich.
By the 16th century, variations of the SCIFERS surname had spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and England. In 1587, a Dutch merchant named Pieter Schiefers is recorded as having traded with the English East India Company.
In the 17th century, a family named SCIFERS settled in the American colonies, with records showing a Jacob Schiefer arriving in Pennsylvania in 1683. One of his descendants, John Schiefer (1723-1796), served as a militia captain during the American Revolutionary War.
Another notable individual with the SCIFERS surname was the German-American inventor and industrialist John Augustus Roebling (1806-1869), whose original surname was Schiefer before it was anglicized. Roebling is best known for designing and constructing the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.
Throughout history, the SCIFERS name has also been associated with various places, such as the village of Schiefer in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and the Schiefer Creek in Pennsylvania, which was likely named after the early SCIFERS settlers in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Scifers
Among Census respondents with the surname Scifers, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Scifers 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 Scifers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 5
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Scifers
Scifers appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,130 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Up 2,130 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 Scifers 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 | #153,769 | #151,639 | 1.4% |
| Count | 106 | 107 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Scifers bearers went from 106 to 107 (+0.9% change). The surname moved up 2,130 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #151,639.
FAQ
Scifers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Scifers?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Scifers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Scifers?
Scifers ranks #151,639 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 2020 Census file counted 107 people with the surname Scifers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Scifers.
Has Scifers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Scifers went from 106 recorded bearers to 107. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Scifers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Scifers, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Scifers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Scifers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (4.7%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Scifers (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 Scifers mean?
A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from German "Schiefer" meaning slate worker. 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 Scifers (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 last name Scifers?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Scifers, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.