2000
#118,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 135
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Silfen
A surname derived from the Middle High German word "silvar" meaning silver, potentially referring to a silversmith or someone associated with silver mining or working.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Silfen. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Silfen 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Silfen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Silfen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Silfen
The surname SILFEN is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the 16th or 17th century. It is derived from the German word "Silf," which means "silver" or "silvery," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who worked with silver or had silver-colored hair or complexion.
The earliest recorded instances of the name SILFEN can be found in German church records and municipal documents from the mid-17th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Silfen, a silversmith born in Nuremberg in 1628. His son, Johann Silfen, continued the family trade and is mentioned in guild records from 1672.
In the 18th century, the name SILFEN began to spread beyond Germany, with some bearers of the name migrating to neighboring countries like Austria and Switzerland. One notable individual from this period was Maria Silfen, a renowned opera singer who performed in Vienna in the late 1700s.
As the Industrial Revolution gained momentum in the 19th century, many SILFEN families left their homelands in search of better opportunities. Some settled in the United States, where the name became anglicized to "Silven" or "Silvan." One of the earliest American SILFENs was Johann Silfen, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1832 and worked as a metalsmith.
In the 20th century, the name SILFEN remained relatively uncommon, but a few notable individuals emerged. Klaus Silfen, born in 1920 in Berlin, was a renowned chemist who made significant contributions to the field of polymer science. Another prominent SILFEN was Gertrude Silfen, a British author and journalist who wrote extensively on social issues and women's rights in the 1960s and 1970s.
While the name SILFEN has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with bearers of the name found in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. Despite its rarity, the name continues to carry a distinctive and intriguing history, reflecting its origins in the world of metalworking and silver.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Silfen
Among Census respondents with the surname Silfen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Silfen 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 Silfen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 3
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Silfen
Silfen 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
#132,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
-7 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,252 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-9 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,582 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #118,954 | 135 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #132,206 | 128 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 13,252 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 10,582 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 Silfen 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 | #132,206 | #142,788 | -8.0% |
| Count | 128 | 119 | -7.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Silfen bearers went from 128 to 119 (-7.0% change). The surname moved down 10,582 positions in the national ranking, going from #132,206 to #142,788.
FAQ
Silfen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Silfen?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Silfen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Silfen?
Silfen ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Silfen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Silfen.
Has Silfen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Silfen went from 128 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #132,206 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Silfen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Silfen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). 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 Silfen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Silfen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Hispanic (5.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). 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 Silfen (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 Silfen mean?
A surname derived from the Middle High German word "silvar" meaning silver, potentially referring to a silversmith or someone associated with silver mining or working. 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 Silfen (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 Silfen?
Find out how many people have the surname Silfen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.