Find out how popular the last name Updegraff is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Updegraff.

Updegraff, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Updegraff surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Updegraff in America

Updegraff is the 19166th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Updegraff surname appeared 1,417 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Updegraff.

We can also compare 2010 data for Updegraff to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Updegraff

The surname Updegraff is of Dutch origin, with roots tracing back to the 16th century in the Netherlands. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch words "op de graaf," which translates to "on the dike" or "on the embankment." This suggests that the name's earliest bearers may have lived near dikes or embankments, likely in coastal regions of the Netherlands.

One of the earliest documented instances of the name Updegraff can be found in the Dutch municipal records of Leiden, dated 1587, where a certain Jan Updegraff is mentioned as a resident. The name also appears in various other Dutch records from the late 16th and early 17th centuries, with minor variations in spelling such as "Updegraeff" and "Updegraeffe."

As the Dutch colonized parts of North America in the 17th century, some individuals bearing the name Updegraff likely immigrated to the New World. One notable early American bearer of the name was Abraham Updegraff, who was born in 1685 in Esopus, New York, then a Dutch settlement. He was a farmer and landowner in the Hudson Valley region.

Another significant figure in the Updegraff lineage was Johannes Updegraff, born in 1718 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He was a prominent member of the Germantown Mennonite community and played a role in the early abolition movement, signing a petition against slavery in 1688.

In the 19th century, the Updegraff name gained prominence through individuals like Samuel Updegraff (1801-1887), a respected lawyer and judge in Ohio, and John Updegraff (1834-1909), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who later served as a U.S. Congressman from Ohio.

Other notable Updegraffs throughout history include Robert Updegraff (1889-1971), an American psychologist and educator who served as the president of the American Psychological Association in 1953, and Clarence Updegraff (1890-1976), a renowned geologist and paleontologist who made significant contributions to the study of fossils in the southwestern United States.

While the Updegraff name may have originated from the Netherlands, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with bearers of the name making their mark in diverse fields ranging from law and politics to science and academia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Updegraff

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Updegraff.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Updegraff was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Updegraff has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Updegraff was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Updegraff, please contact us.

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