2000
#118,236
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Undercoffer
An English occupational surname referring to an undertaker or coffin maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Undercoffer. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Undercoffer 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Undercoffer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Undercoffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Undercoffer
The surname Undercoffer is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words 'under' and 'cofer,' which together translate to 'under the coffer' or 'beneath the treasure chest.' This unique name likely originated as a descriptive term for someone who lived or worked in proximity to a place where valuables were stored, perhaps a castle or manor house.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Undercoffer name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1248, where a certain William Undercofer is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by the 13th century. Variations in spelling, such as 'Undercoffre' and 'Undrecoufer,' were common during this period due to the lack of standardized orthography.
In the 14th century, the Undercoffer name appears in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where a Gilbert Undrecoufer is listed as a tenant in 1327. This record provides valuable insight into the geographic spread of the name and its association with land ownership and tenancy.
During the Tudor period, the Undercoffers continued to feature in historical records, with a notable figure being John Undercoffer, a merchant and alderman in the city of London, who was born in 1523 and died in 1597. His prominence in the city's mercantile circles suggests that the family had achieved some level of status and prosperity by this time.
In the 17th century, the spelling of the name began to stabilize towards its modern form, as evidenced by the birth of Thomas Undercoffer in Gloucestershire in 1632. This Thomas Undercoffer later became a prominent landowner and magistrate in the county, further solidifying the family's standing in the region.
Another notable bearer of the Undercoffer name was Samuel Undercoffer, born in 1701 in Oxfordshire. He was a renowned scholar and theologian who served as the rector of All Saints Church in Oxford for over three decades, making significant contributions to the religious and academic life of the city.
As the centuries progressed, the Undercoffer name continued to be found across various parts of England, with individuals bearing this surname leaving their mark in various fields, from agriculture and trade to the clergy and academia. While not a particularly widespread surname, its unique origins and historical associations with places of importance and wealth add to its distinctive character.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Undercoffer
Among Census respondents with the surname Undercoffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Undercoffer 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 Undercoffer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.0% · 102
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Undercoffer
Undercoffer 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-19 bearers (-14.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 23,872 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-14 bearers (-12.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 12,074 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #118,236 | 136 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | -19 bearers (-14.0%) | Down 23,872 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -14 bearers (-12.0%) | Down 12,074 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 Undercoffer 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 | #142,108 | #154,182 | -8.5% |
| Count | 117 | 103 | -12.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Undercoffer bearers went from 117 to 103 (-12.0% change). The surname moved down 12,074 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #154,182.
FAQ
Undercoffer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Undercoffer?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Undercoffer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Undercoffer?
Undercoffer ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Undercoffer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Undercoffer.
Has Undercoffer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Undercoffer went from 117 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 14 (-12.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Undercoffer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Undercoffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Undercoffer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.0% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Undercoffer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Undercoffer (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 Undercoffer mean?
An English occupational surname referring to an undertaker or coffin maker. 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 Undercoffer (0.03 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 Undercoffer?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Undercoffer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.