How common is the surname Duff?

16,536 people in the United States had the surname Duff in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,671 Americans. It ranked 2,202nd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Duff?

Hilary Duff, American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and writer (born 1987), followed by Haylie Duff.

Where is the surname Duff most common?

Wikidata records people named Duff in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 2 other countries.

Is the surname Duff getting more or less common?

More common. 16,119 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,536 in 2010, up 2.6%.

Is Duff also a first name?

Yes. Duff is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Duff

A surname, carried by 16,536 people in the United States.

Pronounced /dʌf/ 1 syllable Soundex D100

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Duff is more common than 98.6% of them.

Origin

From the Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, from dubh (“dark”).

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 16,536 people named Duff in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 18,671 Americans. That is up 2.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 16,119.

#2,202

rank among US surnames

16,536

people in 2010

5.6

per 100,000 Americans

+2.6%

change since 2000 (was #2,058)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,194	Rosenthal	16,583	18,618
#2,195	Pickens	16,577	18,625
#2,196	Balderas	16,576	18,626
#2,197	Giordano	16,569	18,634
#2,198	Pappas	16,559	18,645
#2,199	Henning	16,557	18,647
#2,200	Schilling	16,546	18,660

Who is named Duff

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

86% of people named Duff identified as white (not Hispanic), 9.0% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 86%
Black (not Hispanic) 9.0%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
Two or more races 1.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Duffs

12 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Hilary Duff
American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and writer (born 1987)
Haylie Duff
American actress and singer, born 1985
Anne-Marie Duff
British actress, born 1970
Howard Duff
American actor (1913–1990)
James H. Duff
American politician (1883-1969)
John Duff
(1895-1958) racing driver
Jamal Duff
American actor and former American football player, born 1972
Lyman Duff
8th Chief Justice of Canada (1865–1955)
Tom Duff
American computer programmer, born 1952
Reggie Duff
Australian cricketer (1878-1911)
Mary Ann Duff
British actress, 1794–1857
Beauchamp Duff
British Army general, 1855–1918

Notable Duffs come mostly from the United States (5), Canada (3) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Duff

Duff has the Soundex code D100, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code D100.

Questions

Where does the surname Duff come from?: From the Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, from dubh (“dark”).
How common is the surname Duff?: 16,536 people in the United States had the surname Duff in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,671 Americans. It ranked 2,202nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Duff?: In the 2010 Census, 86% of people named Duff identified as white (not Hispanic), and 9.0% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Duff?: Hilary Duff, American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and writer (born 1987), followed by Haylie Duff.
Where is the surname Duff most common?: Wikidata records people named Duff in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 2 other countries.
How do you pronounce Duff?: Duff is /dʌf/, one syllable.
Is the surname Duff getting more or less common?: More common. 16,119 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,536 in 2010, up 2.6%.
Is Duff also a first name?: Yes. Duff is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.