2000
#125,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Spliethof
A locational German surname referring to someone from a place named Spliethof.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Spliethof. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spliethof 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Spliethof in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spliethof, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.7%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Spliethof
The surname Spliethof originated in the Low Countries, which today comprise the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, during the late medieval period around the 13th to 15th centuries. It is likely derived from a combination of the Middle Dutch words "spliet" meaning split or crack, and "hof" meaning courtyard or farm. This suggests the name may have initially referred to someone living on a split or divided estate or courtyard.
One of the earliest known recorded instances of the surname Spliethof appears in a 1457 manuscript from the town of Groningen, in the northern Netherlands, where it is spelled "Spliethoeve." This spelling variation indicates the name's connection to the Dutch word "hoeve," meaning farm or agricultural estate.
In the 16th century, the name Spliethof can be found in various municipal records and church registers across the Dutch provinces of Friesland, Groningen, and Drenthe. Notable early bearers of the name include Jan Spliethof, a farmer from the village of Midwolde in Groningen, who was born around 1525.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, as the Dutch established colonial outposts across the globe, the Spliethof name began to spread to other regions, including the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) and the Dutch Cape Colony in South Africa. One notable individual from this era was Johannes Spliethof, a merchant and trader who was born in Amsterdam in 1673 and later settled in Batavia (present-day Jakarta), where he established a successful trading company.
In the 19th century, the name Spliethof can be found in various Dutch and Belgian census records, as well as in emigration records of individuals leaving for the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world. One prominent figure from this period was Willem Spliethof, a Dutch painter born in 1829 in The Hague, who was known for his landscapes and genre scenes.
Throughout the centuries, the Spliethof name has maintained its connection to the Low Countries, with various spelling variations emerging over time, such as Spliethofe, Splithoff, and Splithof. Despite its relative rarity, the name has been carried by individuals across different walks of life, from farmers and merchants to artists and professionals.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spliethof
Among Census respondents with the surname Spliethof, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.7%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Spliethof 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 Spliethof surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 90
- Two or more races10.7% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spliethof
Spliethof 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
-1 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,073 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-13 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,242 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #125,639 | 126 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 9,073 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 13,242 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 Spliethof 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 | #134,712 | #147,954 | -9.8% |
| Count | 125 | 112 | -10.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spliethof bearers went from 125 to 112 (-10.4% change). The surname moved down 13,242 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #147,954.
FAQ
Spliethof surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spliethof?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Spliethof. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Spliethof?
Spliethof ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Spliethof. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Spliethof.
Has Spliethof become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spliethof went from 125 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Spliethof?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spliethof, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.7%) and Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Spliethof in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (90 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spliethof appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.4%), Two or More Races (10.7%), Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Spliethof (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 Spliethof mean?
A locational German surname referring to someone from a place named Spliethof. 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 Spliethof (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 Spliethof?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.