The Riffle surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,461 people carried this name — #6,253 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 54,100 people counted. That is up 2% from 5,328 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

19 families named Riffle, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 118 people lived in those households, 6.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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 9
Virginia 5
Maryland 3
North Carolina 2

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. 259 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Riffle in Australian newspapers,
1890s–1940s.

67 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Riffle. The most, 23, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 28
Victoria 26
New South Wales 8
South Australia 2
Western Australia 2
Tasmania 1

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

Who carried it

People named Riffle,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Dick Riffle 1915–1981 · American football player
  • Charley Riffle 1918–2002 · American football player

Wikidata (CC0).

In the public record

People named Riffle,
in the records of 4 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 States248 records

248 records of the Riffle name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 180
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 44
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 9
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 5
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Thomas J. Riffle

    Born 1918 in West Virginia. Enlisted 1941 at Clarksburg; farm hand from Gilmer County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Massillon Cemetery Assoc, Ohio.

    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 Joseph Henry Riffle

    Born 1946; from White Marsh, Maryland. U.S. Army, armor reconnaissance specialist; died of wounds 1968 in Hua Nghia, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Thomas Ronald Riffle

    U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1954, died 1997; buried at Chardon Village Cemetery, Ohio.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 248 records for Riffle 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, 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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

France8 records

8 records of the Riffle name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Edouard Jean Riffle

    Born 1906 in Paris; died 1994 in Vernon (Eure).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Yvonne Marie-Josee Riffle

    Born 1928 in Paris; died 1997 in Menucourt (Val-d'Oise).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Georgette Fernande Riffle

    Born 1911 in Sablé-sur-Sarthe; died 1984 in Le Mans (Sarthe).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Riffle in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Riffle name in Canada City of Winnipeg cemetery records
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record George Riffle

    Died 1988; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record John George Riffle

    Died 1947; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Counts: City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Riffle 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 Anton Riffle

    From Demmingen, Neresheim. Reported wounded in the Württemberg casualty list of 31 July 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Riffle.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Riffle 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 the Riffle volume
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