Explore the Family Name Scaife

The meaning of Scaife

English (northern; Yorkshire): nickname from the northern English dialect word scafe ‘crooked, awry, awkward, wild’ (Old Norse skeifr).

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Scaife has been growing in popularity in recent years. In 2000, Scaife was ranked as the 15,809th most common surname in the United States, but by 2010 it had risen to the 15,418th position, marking a 2.47% increase. The count of individuals with the surname also increased, with a 12.36% increase from 1,691 people in 2000 to 1,900 people in 2010. The proportion of the U.S. population with this surname per 100,000 people also increased slightly from 0.63 in 2000 to 0.64 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#15,809	#15,418	2.47%
Count	1,691	1,900	12.36%
Proportion per 100k	0.63	0.64	1.59%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Scaife

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census reveals some shifts between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of individuals with the surname Scaife who identify as Asian/Pacific Islander decreased marginally from 0.41% to 0.37%. However, there was a significant increase in people identifying as having two or more races, rising from 2.01% to 4.32%. Meanwhile, the population of people identifying as white and black both saw slight declines, dropping from 47.43% to 45.47% and 47.78% to 46.32% respectively. There was also an increase in people identifying as Hispanic, going from 1.83% to 3.00%. The percentage of American Indian and Alaskan Native remained stable at 0.53%.

	2000	2010	Change
Black	47.78%	46.32%	-3.06%
White	47.43%	45.47%	-4.13%
Two or More Races	2.01%	4.32%	114.93%
Hispanic	1.83%	3%	63.93%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.53%	0.53%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.41%	0.37%	-9.76%