NameCensus.

UK surname

Steff

A German surname derived from the medieval personal name Stefan.

In the 1881 census there were 57 people recorded with the Steff surname, ranking it #25,575 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 98, ranked #31,470, down from #25,575 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Hitcham, Brettenham, Cavendish and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Welwyn Hatfield, Havering and Newham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Steff is 149 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 71.9%.

1881 census count

57

Ranked #25,575

Modern count

98

2016, ranked #31,470

Peak year

1911

149 bearers

Map years

2

1861 to 1911

Key insights

  • Steff had 57 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #25,575 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 98 in 2016, ranked #31,470.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 149 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Steff surname distribution map

The map shows where the Steff surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Steff surname density by area, 1911 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Steff over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 81 #19,457
1861 historical 116 #18,751
1881 historical 57 #25,575
1891 historical 95 #24,694
1901 historical 88 #24,270
1911 historical 149 #17,937
1997 modern 71 #30,521
1998 modern 80 #29,966
1999 modern 77 #30,427
2000 modern 81 #30,036
2001 modern 78 #30,168
2002 modern 80 #30,387
2003 modern 84 #29,978
2004 modern 89 #29,623
2005 modern 90 #29,527
2006 modern 98 #28,621
2007 modern 90 #30,228
2008 modern 92 #30,286
2009 modern 96 #30,239
2010 modern 102 #29,930
2011 modern 94 #31,016
2012 modern 88 #32,064
2013 modern 92 #31,909
2014 modern 93 #32,025
2015 modern 94 #31,872
2016 modern 98 #31,470

Geography

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Where Steffs are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Hitcham, Brettenham, Cavendish, London parishes, Oxford City: St Aldate, North Hinksey and Luton. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Welwyn Hatfield, Havering, Newham, Lancaster and Wiltshire. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Hitcham, Brettenham Suffolk
2 Cavendish Suffolk
3 London parishes London 1
4 Oxford City: St Aldate, North Hinksey Oxfordshire
5 Luton Bedfordshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Welwyn Hatfield 006 Welwyn Hatfield
2 Havering 019 Havering
3 Newham 032 Newham
4 Lancaster 006 Lancaster
5 Wiltshire 036 Wiltshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Steff

These lists show first names that appear often with the Steff surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Steff

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Steff, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Steff surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Steff household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

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Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs

Within London, Steff is most associated with areas classed as Terraced and Semi-Detached Suburbs, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly concentrated in suburban areas, these terraced and semi-detached developments are less overcrowded than the Supergroup average, and resident households are more likely to own two or more cars. There are fewer residents aged 25-44, and a larger share of residents employed in administrative and secretarial occupations. Residents are more likely to have been born in the UK, less likely to have been born in the EU or Africa, and much less likely to self-identify as Bangladeshi.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Steff is most concentrated in decile 9 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Steff falls in decile 3 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

3
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Steff is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Steff, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Steff

The surname Steff has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Germanic personal name "Stefe" or "Stefo," which itself originated from an Old High German word "staf" or "stef," meaning a staff or a stick.

One of the earliest records of the name Steff can be found in the Codex Traditionum of the Benedictine abbey of Reichenau, dated around the 9th century. This manuscript mentions a landowner named "Steffo" who donated some of his estates to the monastery.

During the medieval period, the name Steff was predominantly found in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia, which were part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was often associated with families of peasant farmers or woodsmen, whose work involved the use of staffs or sticks.

In the 13th century, a notable bearer of the name was Steffan von Bamberg, a Catholic bishop and missionary who played a significant role in the Christianization of Pomerania. He was born around 1165 and died in 1207.

Another historical figure with the surname Steff was Hans Steff, a German Renaissance painter born in Nuremberg around 1480. He was a contemporary of the famous artist Albrecht Dürer and is known for his religious paintings and altarpieces.

In the 16th century, the name Steff appeared in various spellings, such as Stef, Steph, and Steff, reflecting regional variations and the lack of standardized spelling during that time. One example is Johann Steff, a German theologian and reformer born in Augsburg in 1532, who played a role in the Protestant Reformation.

The name Steff has also been associated with certain place names in Germany, such as Steffenburg, a small town in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and Steffeln, a village in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. These place names likely derived from individuals bearing the surname Steff who settled in those areas.

Other notable individuals with the surname Steff include Georg Steff (1615-1679), a German composer and organist from Nuremberg, and Johann Steff (1804-1856), a German politician and writer from Bavaria.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Steff families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Steff surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Suffolk leads with 17 Steffs recorded in 1881 and an index of 25.10x.

County Total Index
Suffolk 17 25.10x
Oxfordshire 14 40.78x
Norfolk 7 8.19x
Buckinghamshire 3 8.93x
Surrey 3 1.11x
Sussex 3 3.20x
Yorkshire 3 0.54x
Middlesex 2 0.36x
Bedfordshire 1 3.47x
Berkshire 1 2.40x
Hampshire 1 0.88x
Kent 1 0.53x
Lancashire 1 0.15x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Cavendish in Suffolk leads with 10 Steffs recorded in 1881 and an index of 4545.45x.

Place Total Index
Cavendish 10 4545.45x
Oxford St Aldate 8 2222.22x
Hitcham 7 4117.65x
Attleborough 6 1395.35x
Headington 5 943.40x
Bradwell 3 638.30x
Hove 3 72.99x
Croydon 2 13.30x
Cottingham 1 84.03x
Enfield 1 27.40x
Haslingden 1 36.63x
Herne 1 119.05x
Hound 1 129.87x
Kintbury 1 312.50x
Lockngtn In Kilnwck 1 1000.00x
Luton 1 20.08x
Old Buckenham 1 454.55x
Oxford St Peter Le Bailey 1 588.24x
Paddington London 1 4.89x
Sculcoates 1 11.45x
Wimbledon 1 32.89x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Steff surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 3
Sarah 3
Elizabeth 2
Ellen 2
Emma 2
Martha 2
Matilda 2
Ann 1
Annie 1
Edith 1
Elizh. 1
Fannie 1
Flora 1
Harriett 1
Kate 1
Keziah 1
Margaret 1
Maria 1
Nellie 1
Rhoda 1
Susan 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Steff surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 8
John 3
Alfred 2
Edward 2
Albert 1
Daniel 1
Edwin 1
Fredrick 1
George 1
Harry 1
Herburt 1
Isaac 1
James 1
Norman 1
Robert 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Steff surname: questions and answers

How common was the Steff surname in 1881?

In 1881, 57 people were recorded with the Steff surname. That placed it at #25,575 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Steff surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 98 in 2016. That gives Steff a modern rank of #31,470.

What does the Steff surname mean?

A German surname derived from the medieval personal name Stefan.

What does the Steff map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Steff bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.