Fife Surname

43,040th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 12,094 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Bahamas

Fife Surname Definition:

From the name of the shire. "The surname of Fife (but a small name now), pretends to be descended of a younger son of Macduff, earl of Fife" (Nisbet, I, p. 277). There is no proof of such descent. Ele de Fyfe of the county of Fyfe rendered homage in 1296 (Bain, II, p.

Read More About This Surname

Fife Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States9,3161:38,9074,798
Canada7671:48,0395,831
England5871:94,92010,135
Australia5771:46,7865,853
New Zealand2591:17,4843,070
South Africa1161:467,04938,892
Scotland1041:51,4794,410
Portugal571:182,7767,697
Bahamas491:7,995667
Trinidad and Tobago351:38,9713,714
Zimbabwe351:441,09338,294
Wales231:134,5459,804
France211:3,162,987209,042
Germany141:5,750,390205,224
Brazil111:19,461,303329,560
Nicaragua101:602,1093,988
Angola91:2,998,8024,903
Belgium81:1,437,08092,692
Indonesia81:16,531,149488,268
Northern Ireland81:230,63010,839
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines71:16,094893
Denmark71:806,38843,211
Isle of Man61:14,3043,169
Mexico51:24,825,24158,251
Norway51:1,028,45761,363
Greece41:2,769,948101,568
Jersey31:33,0674,675
Spain31:15,584,012120,866
Russia31:48,041,019639,186
Philippines31:33,746,074302,898
China21:683,660,78330,601
South Korea21:25,620,1284,175
Cuba21:5,761,35813,825
Cyprus21:442,4389,493
Yemen21:13,212,64740,633
Italy21:30,578,344160,757
Bermuda11:65,2793,010
Barbados11:287,4482,772
Bangladesh11:159,356,77326,077
Cameroon11:20,769,068227,406
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Argentina11:42,743,414282,706
Cayman Islands11:63,8932,384
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
Thailand11:70,638,3451,175,915
Tanzania11:52,941,613123,716
Switzerland11:8,212,915156,297
Sweden11:9,846,757347,448
DR Congo11:73,879,570260,543
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Panama11:3,912,25817,195
Nigeria11:177,142,758748,972
Israel11:8,557,634182,558
Mozambique11:27,261,5697,432
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
Lebanon11:5,637,08332,436
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland341:130,2907,484
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England4371:55,7796,624
Scotland3661:10,2271,300
Wales51:313,68310,604
Isle of Man11:54,2692,077
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,8441:27,2343,339

Fife (672) may also be a first name.

Fife Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

From the name of the shire. "The surname of Fife (but a small name now), pretends to be descended of a younger son of Macduff, earl of Fife" (Nisbet, I, p. 277). There is no proof of such descent. Ele de Fyfe of the county of Fyfe rendered homage in 1296 (Bain, II, p. 204). John de Fyff, charter witness in Aberdeen in 1436, may be the John de Fyff prepositus of Aberdeen in 1451, who appears again as bergess there in 1464 (REA., I, p. 234; II, p. 297; RAA., II, 154). Andrew de Fiffe was perpetual vicar of the perish church of Maryton in 1447 (REB., II, 397). John Fieff, Scottish merchant of Aberdeen, had a safe conduct to trade between Scodand and England in 1453, and Patrick of Fyffe, another Aberdeen merchant, had a similar permit in the following year (Bain, IV, 1253, 1265). Sir Patrick of Fyfe was vicer of Aberkerdor in 1462 (SCM., V, p. 286). The surname became Feif and Pfeiff in Sweden where several of the name became prominent. Duncan Phyfe, a Scot, came to the United States about 1784, was a maker of fine furniture equal to that produced by Sheraton, Hipplewhite, and Adams. Fif 1513, Fyif 1608, Fyiff 1647.

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

Ictish) belonging to the Pictish province Fife, anciently Fibh, supposed to be named after Fibh, a son of Cruithne, the eponymus of the Cruithni or Piets.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(Scottish) One who came from Fife.

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

The Scottish county.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

"The surname Fife (but a small name now) pretends to be descended of a younger son of M'Duff, Earl of Fife. From which title they have the name, and carry the arms." Nisbet.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Local: from the district of Fife.

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

Local. A shire or county of Scotland; lands held in fief.

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

From co. Fife, Scotland.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

Fife Last Name Facts

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

Fife (Russian: Фифе) is found in The United States more than any other country or territory. It can also occur in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Fife? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 43,040th most commonly used last name globally. It is borne by approximately 1 in 602,575 people. The last name Fife is primarily found in The Americas, where 84 percent of Fife reside; 83 percent reside in North America and 83 percent reside in Anglo-North America. Fife is also the 320,017th most commonly used first name globally It is held by 672 people.

It is most common in The United States, where it is held by 9,316 people, or 1 in 38,907. In The United States Fife is primarily concentrated in: California, where 10 percent are found, Texas, where 8 percent are found and Ohio, where 7 percent are found. Other than The United States this surname is found in 57 countries. It is also found in Canada, where 6 percent are found and England, where 5 percent are found.

Fife Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Fife has changed over time. In The United States the number of people bearing the Fife surname grew 505 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it grew 134 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it decreased 72 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Wales it grew 460 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Fife Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the surname is principally Catholic (39%) in Ireland.

In The United States Fife are 18.66% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 65.43% being registered to vote for the party.

The amount Fife earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 86.82% more than the national average, earning 646,557 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 67.54% more than the national average, earning R 398,148 per year; in United States they earn 0.3% more than the national average, earning $43,279 USD per year and in Canada they earn 5.56% more than the national average, earning $52,445 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Faife8922,189/
Fifer894,418/
Fiffe89334/
Fiefe8957/
Fifie8931/
Fifea8927/
Fifet894/
Fifee892/
Fifeu892/
Feife891/
Foife890/
Fifes890/
Pfife890/
Fif8612/
Faifer80978/
Feifer80753/
Fieffe80299/
Pfifer80222/
Faifet80136/
Feifei80117/
Fiefie80113/
Fiffie80108/
Fiffer8090/
Fiffee8084/
Faifeu8036/
Fifher8015/
Pfeife805/
Fifett801/
Fiffey801/
Foifey801/
Pfiffe801/
Fiefei801/
Faiffe801/
Fijfer801/
Ffiffe801/
Fgiffe800/
Pfifes800/
Fhifer800/
Fifeer800/
Fyfe7512,219/
Fifi756,911/
Fief75444/
Fafe75376/
Fifa75170/
Fify75155/
Fiev7546/
Fiew7544/
Faif7526/
Fiff7515/
Feif7514/
Fufe7511/
Hfif756/
Fifh754/
Vife753/
Fiof753/
Fipf752/
Fift752/
Fifs751/
Vfif751/
Wfif751/
Fifp751/
Fitf751/
Foif750/
Pfeifer7359,525/
Pfiffer73594/
Pfaifer73375/
Feiffer73216/
Faiffer73124/
Fieffie739/
Pfeiffe734/
Feifets734/
Pffifer731/
Phfifer731/
Pfeifey731/
Fisfher731/
Fhaifer731/
Fiffiey731/
Feyifeh731/
Fieffee731/
Faifeer731/
Pfieffe730/
Pfeiffer6795,677/
Fyffe675,740/
Pfeif67458/
Fifii67337/
Fifis67247/
Faify67201/
Fyfer67141/
Faifa6775/
Feiff6758/
Foifa6758/
Fefie6750/
Faffe6748/
Fiffy6736/
Phife6735/
Pfaiffer6734/
Fifaj6727/
Fisfi6722/
Fifai6717/
Feifa6717/
Pffeifer6715/
Fyfee6714/
Feifs6714/
Viefe6714/
Fifit6712/
Pfafe6710/
Fifoi6710/
Fiffi6710/
Féfeu679/
Foufe678/
Fafee678/
Pfaif677/
Fifoj676/
Pfief674/
Feift674/
Fieff673/
Fuffe672/
Fiffa672/
Vifeh672/
Viffe672/
Fifio672/
Fafei672/
Fufei672/
Fffef672/
Fittf672/
Phfeifer671/
Pffiffer671/
Pfiffeer671/
Fiefa671/
Fifay671/
Fysfe671/
Vifie671/
Faafe671/
Ffaiffer671/
Fifch671/
Fiofi671/
Fufeh671/
Fahfe671/
Foify671/
Fieph671/
Ffyfe671/
Fidfy671/
Fifih671/
Fitft671/
Fiepf671/
Fiffp671/
Ffijf671/
Fiffs670/
Fifft670/
Fhiff670/
Pfyfe670/
Pfeifeer670/
Fishf670/
Fufee670/
Pfiff670/

Fife Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Fife in the Russian language
Фифеfife-

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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 Fife
  • 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