# Garfinkel (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/garfinkel/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 1,647 |
| US rank (2010) | 17,193 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 187,459 people |
| Change since 2000 | +7.0% (1,539 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Garfunkel |

## Etymology

From Yiddish גאָרפֿינקל (gorfinkl, “carbuncle”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Garfinkel in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 95% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.9% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 1.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Garfinkel in the United States.

## People named Garfinkel

- Harold Garfinkel, American sociologist (1917-2011)
- Jack Garfinkel, American basketball player (1918–2013)

## Similar surnames

Garvin, Griffin, Griffen, Griffing, Gribbin, Graven, Girvan.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.