Show ContentsGraff History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Graff Ranking

In the United States, the name Graff is the 3,328th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Graff is ranked the 1,869th most popular surname with an estimated 3,286 people with that name. 2


Graff migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Graff Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Sebastian Graff, who settled in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1719
  • Christoff Graff, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1728 3
  • George Graff, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1728 3
  • Hans Jerg Graff, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1728 3
  • Jahn Michael Graff, who landed in New York, NY in 1731-1751 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Graff Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Anna Barbara Graff, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1803 3
  • Elizabeth Graff, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1803 3
  • Augustus Graff, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1845-1846 3
  • Theodore Graff, aged 22, who landed in New York, NY in 1847 3
  • John M W Graff, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1857 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Graff migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Graff Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Conrad Graff, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749-1752
  • Ester Graff, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1757
  • Catharina Graff, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1757

Graff migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Graff Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Furniss Graff, (Grass, Ernest), English shoe maker who was convicted in London, England for life, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1851 4
  • William Graff, aged 34, a clerk, who arrived in South Australia in 1848 aboard the ship "Alfred" 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Graff (post 1700) +

  • Todd Graff (b. 1959), American actor, known for The Abyss (1989), Camp (2003) and Strange Days (1995)
  • Randy Graff (b. 1955), American actress, known for Rent (2005)
  • Ilene Graff (b. 1949), American actress and singer from Brooklyn, New York, known for Remington Steele (1982), Mr. Belvedere (1985) and Loving Annabelle (2006)
  • John Isaac De Graff (1783-1848), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from New York, 1827-29, 1837-39; Mayor of Schenectady, New York, 1832-34, 1836, 1842, 1845 6
  • Don A. De Graff, American politician, Village President of South Holland, Illinois, 2005-09 6
  • Gerald Graff, American professor, writer, and literary critic at the University of Illinois at Chicago
  • Kasimir Romuald Graff (1878-1950), German astronomer, eponym of the Graff lunar crater and the Graff crater on Mars
  • Anton Graff (1736-1813), eminent Swiss portrait artist


Suggested Readings for the name Graff +

  • The Graff Book by Clyde L. Groff.

  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
  5. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ALFRED 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848Alfred.htm
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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