Explore the Family Name Zeff

The meaning of Zeff

Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the personal name Zev, meaning ‘wolf’ in Hebrew. Some characteristic forenames: Jewish Aron, Isadore, Tova.

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

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

According to data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Zeff has seen a slight decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the surname was ranked 46,839 in popularity and by 2010, it had dropped to 48,256, marking a decrease of 3.03%. Despite this ranking drop, the actual count of individuals with the surname Zeff has increased from 427 in 2000 to 438 in 2010 – a growth of 2.58%. However, when considering the proportion per 100k people, the presence of this surname dipped from 0.16 in 2000 to 0.15 in 2010, indicating a decrease of 6.25%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#46,839	#48,256	-3.03%
Count	427	438	2.58%
Proportion per 100k	0.16	0.15	-6.25%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Zeff

Regarding the ethnic identity associated with the surname Zeff, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the majority of individuals with this surname identified as White, although there was a slight decrease from 2000 to 2010 (from 96.72% to 94.52%). The percentage of individuals identifying as Hispanic increased from 2.11% in 2000 to 2.74% in 2010, showing a substantial growth of 29.86%. Interestingly, no individuals with the Zeff surname identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or as having two or more races in either year. There was also no change for American Indian and Alaskan Native. However, by 2010, 1.14% of individuals with this surname identified as Black, which was not the case in 2000.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.72%	94.52%	-2.27%
Hispanic	2.11%	2.74%	29.86%
Black	0%	1.14%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%