Explore the Family Name Pfeifle

The meaning of Pfeifle

South German: metonymic occupational name for a whistle player, from a diminutive of Middle High German pfīf(e) ‘pipe, whistle’. Some characteristic forenames: German Otto, Erna, Helmuth, Kurt, Milbert.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Pfeifle has seen a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it held the rank of 31,389 with a count of 698 people bearing this surname, while in 2010 it fell slightly to rank 32,438 with a count of 709. Although there was an increase in the number of individuals with the Pfeifle surname, its overall popularity decreased by 3.34% when compared to other surnames and its proportion per 100,000 in the population also saw a decline of 7.69%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#31,389	#32,438	-3.34%
Count	698	709	1.58%
Proportion per 100k	0.26	0.24	-7.69%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pfeifle

As for the ethnicity associated with the Pfeifle surname, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the majority of individuals identifying as Pfeifle are of White ethnic identity. Between 2000 and 2010, this group decreased slightly from 96.85% to 96.47%. Meanwhile, the Hispanic segment showed a notable increase of 52.71%, albeit still at a low percentage overall, rising from 1.29% to 1.97%. The remaining ethnicities such as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native had either zero or suppressed percentages for privacy reasons. Interestingly, those identifying with two or more races dropped from 1.00% to zero over this decade.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.85%	96.47%	-0.39%
Hispanic	1.29%	1.97%	52.71%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	1%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%