The Schiff surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,993 people carried this name — #8,297 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 74,100 people counted. That is up 4% from 3,833 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Schiff surname
Schiff: a surname originating as an occupation The occupational surname taken up by mariners and boatmen.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Schiff» (German), 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 137 people named Schiff.
18 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 14 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 38 people named Schiff 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 Antwerp.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
27 people named Schiff live in Switzerland.
They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
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 print
Schiff in American newspapers,
1902–1920.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 131,506 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Schiff,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Hermann Schiff 1801–1867 · actor -
Hermann Schiff 1807–1867 · actor
-
Moritz Schiff 1823–1896 · biologist -
Hugo Schiff 1834–1915 · chemist -
Hugo Schiff 1834–1915 · chemist
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Christian Schiff 1640–1717 · cantor
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Schiff.
- Schiel 625 · U.S. census
- Schiele 1,106 · U.S. census
- Schier 1,033 · U.S. census
- Schierer 222 · U.S. census
- Schiess 728 · U.S. census
- Schifano 847 · U.S. census
- Schiffer 2,173 · U.S. census
- Schiffmacher 150 · U.S. census
- Schild 1,686 · U.S. census
- Schilder 302 · U.S. census
- Schildknecht 367 · U.S. census
- Schill 2,923 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Schiff 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.