Explore the Family Name Gerfen

The meaning of Gerfen

German: probably from a short form (Gerbo) of a personal name composed with Old High German gēr ‘spear’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Gerfen in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Gerfen has seen a significant decline from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Gerfen held the 66,878th rank in terms of popularity among surnames in the United States. However, by 2010, it had slipped down to the 95,115th position, marking a decrease of 42.22%. The number of individuals bearing the surname Gerfen also dwindled during this period. Its count fell from 276 in 2000 to just 192 in 2010, translating to a drop of 30.43%. Consequently, its proportion per 100,000 people also fell by 30% to 0.07.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#66,878	#95,115	-42.22%
Count	276	192	-30.43%
Proportion per 100k	0.1	0.07	-30%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Gerfen

In relation to ethnicity based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Gerfen is predominantly associated with White ethnic identity. In 2000, 96.74% of those with this surname identified as White. By 2010, this figure had decreased slightly to 94.27%, indicating a change of -2.55%. During the same time frame, there was an emergence of individuals identifying with two or more races, accounting for 2.60% of the Gerfens in 2010. However, there were no recorded instances of Gerfens with Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicity in both 2000 and 2010. The census data for Hispanic Gerfens showed 1.81% in 2000, but this figure was suppressed in 2010 for privacy reasons.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.74%	94.27%	-2.55%
Two or More Races	0%	2.6%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	1.81%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%