Duff Surname

11,429th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 49,178 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Isle of Man

Duff Surname Definition:

As a personal name this is a curtailment of a longer double-stemmed name (compare Fionn, Flann, etc.). The Gaelic is Dubb, from older Dub."The family name Duff is merely the adjective dubh used epithetically" (Macbain). Duncan Duff was witness to a charter of c.

Read More About This Surname

Duff Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States22,8751:15,8452,015
England5,6621:9,8411,449
Australia4,2341:6,376934
Canada3,6561:10,0781,505
Scotland3,6511:1,466258
Nigeria2,8321:62,5504,634
Ireland1,9351:2,434459
New Zealand1,1751:3,854610
Northern Ireland7481:2,467502
South Africa4301:125,99514,831
Switzerland2791:29,4374,455
Saudi Arabia1591:194,06229,524
Wales1241:24,9562,614
Jamaica1161:24,7411,999
Trinidad and Tobago1101:12,4001,655
Panama1011:38,7352,074
Philippines1011:1,002,35986,102
Isle of Man701:1,226195
France651:1,021,888113,182
Guyana551:13,8591,921
Japan541:2,367,48729,899
Zimbabwe541:285,89329,291
Argentina491:872,31556,573
Thailand481:1,471,632200,579
Portugal381:274,16410,086
Brazil371:5,785,793142,916
Germany371:2,175,823115,720
Singapore341:161,9916,884
Chile301:587,21614,299
United Arab Emirates281:327,22422,758
Malaysia271:1,092,37948,277
India261:29,502,515369,827
Spain251:1,870,08151,392
Norway211:244,87126,357
China181:75,962,3094,162
Sweden171:579,22142,433
Italy161:3,822,293103,776
Denmark111:513,15632,022
Indonesia111:12,022,654410,938
Belize101:35,5472,218
Iran101:7,678,252153,484
Israel101:855,76354,181
Netherlands101:1,688,71881,846
Bahrain91:149,8455,469
Costa Rica91:531,1194,381
Malawi91:1,902,12319,532
Morocco91:3,830,67854,497
Qatar91:262,00030,726
Guam81:20,0153,029
Hong Kong81:916,9354,774
Turks and Caicos Islands81:4,291379
Mexico71:17,732,31550,495
Venezuela71:4,314,86839,591
Guatemala51:3,216,5347,141
Jersey51:19,8403,614
Dominican Republic41:2,608,23320,941
Guernsey41:16,1101,225
Malta41:107,5681,849
Peru41:7,946,03141,846
Saint Lucia41:44,6952,207
Afghanistan31:10,717,72835,605
Czechia31:3,544,490144,714
United States Virgin Islands31:36,7924,502
Belgium21:5,748,322130,559
Colombia21:23,887,03632,612
Hungary21:4,908,13864,617
Mauritius21:646,70813,517
Papua New Guinea21:4,076,858165,791
South Korea21:25,620,1284,175
Turkey21:38,910,711171,901
Uganda21:19,519,640189,114
Vietnam21:46,323,0275,235
Antigua and Barbuda11:99,1712,137
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Barbados11:287,4482,772
Benin11:10,335,602103,742
Bulgaria11:6,978,90586,260
Cameroon11:20,769,068227,406
Congo11:4,989,09634,171
Croatia11:4,228,60499,289
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
DR Congo11:73,879,570260,543
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
El Salvador11:6,343,8888,415
Equatorial Guinea11:1,135,674984
Estonia11:1,321,80440,178
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
Gambia11:1,923,4511,043
Ghana11:27,020,69223,742
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Iceland11:380,09011,096
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
Kuwait11:3,800,69427,187
Lebanon11:5,637,08332,436
Liberia11:4,408,53547,110
Macau11:601,6301,582
Micronesia11:106,2431,380
Mozambique11:27,261,5697,432
Nicaragua11:6,021,0908,768
Pakistan11:178,643,885213,220
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Serbia11:7,144,94838,459
Slovakia11:5,336,450140,422
Slovenia11:2,487,67531,128
Sri Lanka11:20,808,56018,521
Taiwan11:23,444,74693,622
Togo11:7,247,76812,049
Wallis and Futuna11:13,610185
Yemen11:26,425,29455,147
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland1,5921:2,783519
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland3,7191:1,007177
England1,5941:15,2922,269
Wales321:49,0132,509
Isle of Man151:3,618395
Jersey11:51,8823,898
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States4,9791:10,0861,301

Duff (2,127) may also be a first name.

Duff Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

As a personal name this is a curtailment of a longer double-stemmed name (compare Fionn, Flann, etc.). The Gaelic is Dubb, from older Dub."The family name Duff is merely the adjective dubh used epithetically" (Macbain). Duncan Duff was witness to a charter of c. 1275 (Beauly, p. 57), and in 1292 the lands of another Dunkan Duf and others in Kintyre were erected into the sheriffdom of Kintyre (APS., I, p. 91). In 1341 Brokynus Duff was one of an inquisition on lands in Aberdeen (REA., I, p. 69), and in the following year Machabeus Duff is in record as burgess of Cullen (ibid., I, p. 73). In 1404 Robert Duff and his spouse had a charter of the lands of Maldavit and Baldavy (Illus., II, p. 140). Paul Duff was one of an inquisition in 1414 (Cawdor, p. 5), and part of the lands of Twlifergus was let to Donald Duff in 1456 (Cupar-Angus, I, p. 136). Andrew Jervise (Epitaphs) "having gone carefully into the subject with all the data at his disposal, gave it as his opinion that the connection of the Duffs of Craighead or Muldavit with the ancient earls of Fife is pure assertion, founded on no evidence" (The Book of Duff, I, p. 12). Duif 1582.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(Celtic) Of Dark Complexion [Irish and Gaelic dubh, dark, black)

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

As well as being a surname of the epithet type (dubh-black) Duff occurs as an abbreviated form of Duffin in Co. Wexford, MacElduff in Co. Tyrone and Duffy in several counties. MIF 89; SIF 59

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

“Black” in Gaelic (Dubh). See MacDuff.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(Irish) Grandson of Dubh (black); one with a swarthy complexion, black.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

"This noble family is derived from Fife Mac-Duff, who was a man of considerable wealth and power in Scotland temp, king Kenneth II., and gave that prince great assistance in his wars with the Picts about the year 834." Kenneth made him a maormor or kinglet, and gave him the lands which he called after his Christian name, Fife, now the shire or county of that designation. Courthope's Debrett. His descendants, from their great dignity, were sometimes called kings of Fife, and they were entitled to place the king of Scotland on the inaugural stone, to lead the van of the royal army, and to enjoy the privilege of a sanctuary for the clan Mac-Duff, of which he was the founder. Gaz. Scotl. The Earl of Fife is a descendant of a junior branch of this ancient line.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Black. The family are descended from the celebrated Macduff, Thane of Fife in the eleventh century.

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

In the Gaelic, signifies black, but in the Cornish-British and Welsh, a captain.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

From the Old Norse, Dufan; a personal name adapted from the Gaelic in the tenth century.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Duff Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Duff Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Duff is borne by more people in The United States than any other country or territory. It can also be found in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Duff? popularity and diffusion

It is the 11,429th most frequently held last name on earth, borne by approximately 1 in 148,187 people. Duff occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 55 percent of Duff are found; 54 percent are found in North America and 53 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 162,945th most frequently occurring first name globally It is held by 2,127 people.

Duff is most frequent in The United States, where it is held by 22,875 people, or 1 in 15,845. In The United States it is primarily concentrated in: California, where 8 percent reside, Texas, where 7 percent reside and Ohio, where 5 percent reside. Other than The United States it exists in 110 countries. It also occurs in England, where 12 percent reside and Australia, where 9 percent reside.

Duff Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Duff has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people who held the Duff last name increased 459 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 355 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it declined 2 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Ireland it increased 122 percent between 1901 and 2014 and in Wales it increased 388 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Duff Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the last name is predominantly Catholic (57%) in Ireland and Christian (98%) in Nigeria.

In The United States those bearing the Duff surname are 13.39% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 60.16% registered to vote for the party.

The amount Duff earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 23.71% more than the national average, earning 428,134 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 61.8% more than the national average, earning R 384,504 per year; in United States they earn 4.13% more than the national average, earning $44,932 USD per year and in Canada they earn 1.59% more than the national average, earning $50,474 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Duffe89647/
Dufft89156/
Deuff89149/
Duyff8958/
Douff8919/
Duffs899/
Dufff896/
Duiff892/
Dhuff891/
Dauff890/
Duf8684/
Duijff8094/
Duff's801/
Duft75893/
Duif75754/
Dufe75371/
Duyf75142/
Douf7580/
Dudf7572/
Dauf7566/
Deuf7516/
Dusf753/
Dufs753/
Dupf752/
Duhf752/
Duvf752/
Dduf751/
Dujf751/
Duuf751/
Duffová731/
Doufftt731/
Duijf67523/
Doufe6769/
Doeff6740/
Duifs6730/
Duyfs6710/
Daufs674/
Dhufp671/
Deupf671/
Dhufe671/
D'Auf671/
Daufe671/
Dudfe671/
Duddf671/
Deufe670/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Duff
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis