The Pifer surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,814 people carried this name — #8,623 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 77,500 people counted. That is down 2% from 3,901 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, Pifer was counted together with Pfeiffer: 30 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 162 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Pfeiffer, Peiffer, Pfeffer, Pfeifer, Pfieffer, Pfifer, Pfyfer, Pifer, Piffers. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 24
New York 2
Maryland 2
Connecticut 1
North Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 257 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Pifer in American newspapers,
1883–1919.

Newspaper page from The Sedalia Weekly Bazoo carrying the name Pifer
The Sedalia Weekly Bazoo 1883-09-18
Newspaper page from El Paso Herald carrying the name Pifer
El Paso Herald 1911-01-30
Newspaper page from Casper Daily Tribune carrying the name Pifer
Casper Daily Tribune 1919-08-16

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 8,502 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Pifer in Australian newspapers,
1890s–1950s.

46 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Pifer. The most, 12, date from the 1910s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 12
Queensland 10
South Australia 8
Tasmania 5
ACT (Canberra) 4
Western Australia 4
Victoria 3

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Pifer.

Who carried it

People named Pifer,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Claude Pifer 1885– · businessperson

Wikidata (CC0) · 3 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Pifer,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States195 records

195 records of the Pifer name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 133
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 27
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 15
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 9
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 7
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Finley W. Pifer

    Born 1917 in Illinois. Enlisted 1942 at Chanute Filed; store manager from Moultrie County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Arthur Cemetery, Illinois.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Roger Lee Pifer

    Born 1950; from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. U.S. Marine Corps, m60a1 tank crewman; killed in action 1969 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Marie Pifer

    Arrived at New York in 1857 aboard the Dorette from Bremen, aged 58. From New York; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 195 records for Pifer in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada8 records

8 records of the Pifer name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 6
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Percy Edwin Pifer

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Ruth Evelyn Pifer

    Born 1923 in Bridgewater, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record P. E. Pifer

    British Columbia Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Pifer in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Pifer name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Johannes Hubertina Alexandra Pifer

    Died 1946 in Meerssen; born in Valkenburg (Houthem).

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Otto Pifer

    In the population register of Bergh; born 1906.

    Open Archives, Erfgoedcentrum Achterhoek en Liemers (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Germany2 records

2 records of the Pifer name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Joseph Pifer

    From Aachen. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 12 July 1915; then reported taken prisoner in the list of 11 November 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 29).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Josef Pifer

    From Aachen. Listed as returned from captivity in the Prussian casualty list of 2 January 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Australia1 record

1 record of the Pifer name in Australia NSW convict, estate and railway indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Pifer

    Of Little Plain, New South Wales; died 1882.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Counts: Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Pifer.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Pifer 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.

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