2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Seiff
Derived from the German word "seife" meaning soap, referring to one's occupation or residence near a soap-making establishment.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Seiff. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Seiff 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Seiff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Seiff, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Seiff
The surname SEIFF has its origins in Germany, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "siuf," which means "sloping" or "inclined." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived on a hillside or sloping terrain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SEIFF surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of documents from the Duchy of Bavaria, where a certain "Siffridus de Siuff" is mentioned in a land transaction dated 1238. This indicates that the name was already established in southern Germany by the 13th century.
In the 14th century, a notable figure bearing the SEIFF name was Heinrich Seiff, a German knight who participated in the Crusades. He is mentioned in the chronicles of the Teutonic Order, which document his involvement in the siege of Acre in 1291.
During the Renaissance period, the SEIFF surname appeared in various records across German-speaking regions. For instance, in the city of Nuremberg, a family of merchants named SEIFF is recorded as having traded in textiles and spices during the 15th and 16th centuries.
One of the earliest known instances of the SEIFF name in the New World can be traced to Johann Seiff, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the late 17th century. He is listed among the early settlers of Germantown, a community founded by German Quakers in 1683.
In the 18th century, a notable figure with the SEIFF surname was Johann Michael Seiff (1692-1768), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Margrave of Baden-Durlach. His compositions, primarily sacred works, were widely performed in his time.
During the 19th century, the SEIFF name gained prominence in the field of science and engineering. Karl Seiff (1818-1892), a German physicist and inventor, made significant contributions to the development of electrical engineering and held several patents for his inventions.
Another notable individual with the SEIFF surname was Max Seiff (1856-1919), a German-American architect who designed several prominent buildings in Chicago, including the Chicago Cultural Center and the Auditorium Building, which was considered an engineering marvel of its time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seiff
Among Census respondents with the surname Seiff, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Seiff 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 Seiff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Seiff
Seiff 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
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-3 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,119 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+11 bearers (+10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,879 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 13,119 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.5%) | Up 9,879 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 Seiff 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 | #154,907 | #145,028 | 6.4% |
| Count | 105 | 116 | 10.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Seiff bearers went from 105 to 116 (+10.5% change). The surname moved up 9,879 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #145,028.
FAQ
Seiff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Seiff?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Seiff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Seiff?
Seiff ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Seiff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Seiff.
Has Seiff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Seiff went from 105 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 11 (+10.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Seiff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Seiff, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Seiff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Seiff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Seiff (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 Seiff mean?
Derived from the German word "seife" meaning soap, referring to one's occupation or residence near a soap-making establishment. 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 Seiff (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 are called Seiff?
If you just want to know how many people are called Seiff, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.