Scarff Surname

167,097th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 2,589 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Ireland

Scarff Surname Definition:

(Scandinavian) 1 a nickname from the Cormorant [Old Norse skarf-r] (occasionally) 2 for Scarth, q.v.

‘Scarf Gap,’ Cumb., is prob. for ‘Scarth Gap,’ and therefore tautological.

Scarff Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States9641:375,99533,261
England8191:68,0327,868
Australia2821:95,72910,881
Canada2781:132,53813,752
Ireland1021:46,1663,435
Scotland641:83,6536,073
South Africa251:2,167,10894,352
Wales191:162,87011,152
Thailand181:3,924,352328,346
United Arab Emirates31:3,054,09190,853
Zimbabwe11:15,438,240133,260
Vietnam11:92,646,0548,382
Singapore11:5,507,70347,049
Sweden11:9,846,757347,448
Sri Lanka11:20,808,56018,521
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Indonesia11:132,249,194811,426
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
France11:66,422,722504,397
Cayman Islands11:63,8932,384
Brazil11:214,074,3321,693,628
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland291:152,7548,150
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England3451:70,6537,895
Isle of Man111:4,934490
Wales11:1,568,41619,290
Scotland11:3,743,21632,299
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2181:230,36119,417

Scarff (14) may also be a first name.

Scarff Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

(Scandinavian) 1 a nickname from the Cormorant [Old Norse skarf-r] (occasionally) 2 for Scarth, q.v.

‘Scarf Gap,’ Cumb., is prob. for ‘Scarth Gap,’ and therefore tautological.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

. Dr. Vigfusson suggests that this name is probably derived from skar∂, 'a mountain pass'. Skar∂ is common in local names in Iceland, and we find Scarf-gap in Cumberland, so that the surname may have been taken from one of the places so-called. Other possible deriva­tions are from skar∂i, 'hare-lip', a nickname which was a frequent Danish proper name on Runic stones, or from skarf, 'a cormorant', which is used as a nickname in the Landnámabóc. The cormorant is still called 'the scarf in the Shetlands. Scharf is found in the Hundred Rolls.

The name is now very uncommon.

Manx Names (1890) by Arthur William Moore

Scarff Last Name Facts

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

The last name Scarff is carried by more people in The United States than any other country or territory. It may occur in the variant forms:. Click here for further potential spellings of Scarff.

How Common Is The Last Name Scarff? popularity and diffusion

This last name is the 167,097th most widespread surname at a global level, held by approximately 1 in 2,814,811 people. This last name is mostly found in The Americas, where 48 percent of Scarff are found; 48 percent are found in North America and 48 percent are found in Anglo-North America. Scarff is also the 3,024,661st most frequently used first name throughout the world, held by 14 people.

The last name is most widely held in The United States, where it is carried by 964 people, or 1 in 375,995. In The United States Scarff is most prevalent in: Nevada, where 23 percent are found, Maryland, where 18 percent are found and California, where 7 percent are found. Other than The United States Scarff occurs in 24 countries. It is also found in England, where 32 percent are found and Australia, where 11 percent are found.

Scarff Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Scarff has changed over time. In The United States the number of people who held the Scarff surname expanded 442 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it expanded 237 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Ireland it expanded 352 percent between 1901 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 6,400 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Wales it expanded 1,900 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Scarff Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those carrying the last name is principally Catholic (97%) in Ireland.

In The United States Scarff are 9.88% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 56.65% registered with the political party.

The amount Scarff earn in different countries varies markedly. In South Africa they earn 44.04% more than the national average, earning R 342,300 per year; in United States they earn 6.34% more than the national average, earning $45,886 USD per year and in Canada they earn 5.22% more than the national average, earning $52,277 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Scharff926,687/
Scarffe92242/
Scahrff921/
Scarf91895/
Sarff91809/
Carff9138/
Scharpff86101/
Scharrff861/
Schaarff860/
Scharf8333,103/
Scarfe831,861/
Scarfì8377/
Scarfs836/
Shcarf834/
Scgarf831/
Scarft831/
Scorff830/
Sarf80576/
Carf8028/
Scharpf772,840/
Schearf7763/
Schaarf7718/
Scharrf778/
Schorff774/
Skarffe771/
Scorffe770/
Corff73120/
Carfì7349/
Skarf7316/
Sarrf7312/
Sahrf738/
Sairf736/
Saarf735/
Saurf734/
Searf733/
Carrf732/
Scarb731/
Jarff731/
Sarwf731/
Schaarpf711/
Schorf6713/
Zarffs672/
Saharf672/
Scorpf671/
Scarph670/
Scharv670/

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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 Scarff
  • 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