Pfaff surname: meaning, census count and records | FamilyCrests

The Pfaff surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,331 people carried this name — #5,498 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 46,500 people counted. That is up 1% from 6,282 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Pfaff surname

Borrowed from German Pfaff, from Middle High German pfaffe (“cleric”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Pfaff» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 318 people named Pfaff.

15 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 26 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born

Born outside France 15
Bas-Rhin 88
Haut-Rhin 53
Doubs 49
Meurthe-et-Moselle 26
Paris 18
Moselle 12
Sarthe 8
Allier 6

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

310 people named Pfaff live in Switzerland.

They live in 17 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Basel-Landschaft.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Basel-Landschaft 64
Zurich 51
Solothurn 26
Thurgau 24
Aargau 24
Bern 24
Basel-Stadt 13
Graubünden 13

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Belgium’s population register

At least 214 people named Pfaff live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Liège.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Liège 90
East Flanders 44
Antwerp 32
Flemish Brabant 19
Hainaut 13
West Flanders 6
Walloon Brabant 5
Namur 5

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Pfaff in American newspapers,
1907–1928.

Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name Pfaff
The Washington Times 1928-08-29
Newspaper page from The Washington Herald carrying the name Pfaff
The Washington Herald 1913-08-20
Newspaper page from The Washington Herald carrying the name Pfaff
The Washington Herald 1907-04-15

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 20,633 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Pfaff,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Johann Christoph Pfaff
    Johann Christoph Pfaff 1651–1720 · parson
  • Christoph Matthäus Pfaff
    Christoph Matthäus Pfaff 1686–1760 · chancellor
  • Philipp Pfaff
    Philipp Pfaff 1713–1766 · dentist
  • Johann Friedrich Pfaff
    Johann Friedrich Pfaff 1765–1825 · astronomer
  • Fridolin Pfaff 1543–1587 · joiner
  • Nikolaus Pfaff 1556–1612 · engraver

Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Pfaff.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Pfaff is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See what a volume holds
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