Stillman
A name indicating one who is motionless or quiet in demeanor.
Name Census estimates that about 61 living Americans carry the first name Stillman. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Stillman today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Stillman births was 1921 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Stillman. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Stillman. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
61
~ 1 in 5,618,924 Americans
Peak year
1921
13 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
2008 SSA rank
#14,330
Tracked since 1912
Census
Stillman in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 180 people with the first name Stillman, which placed it at #41,022 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#41,022
National first-name rank
People counted
180
180 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stillman
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stillman is White at 76.1%. The next largest groups are Black (14.4%) and Hispanic (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Stillman described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Stillman at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.1% · 137
- Black or African American14.4% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 6
- Two or more races2.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Stillman: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Stillman from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 100 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Stillman by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Stillman during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Stillmans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Stillman
The given name Stillman has its origins in the Old English language, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the combination of two Old English words, "stille" meaning "still" or "calm," and "mann" meaning "man." This suggests that the name may have been initially used to describe a person with a calm or serene demeanor.
The name Stillman was particularly common in England during the Middle Ages, where it was often used as a descriptive surname for individuals who exhibited a tranquil or peaceful nature. It was not until later centuries that Stillman became more widely adopted as a given name in its own right.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Stillman can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. In this document, there are references to individuals with the surname "Stillman" or variations thereof, indicating the name's longstanding presence in English society.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Stillman. One of the earliest prominent figures was Stillman Stillman (1628-1699), an English Puritan minister and author who emigrated to New England in the 17th century. Another early example is Stillman Gould (1738-1830), an American farmer and soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War.
In the 19th century, Stillman Witt (1807-1888) was a prominent American architect known for designing several notable buildings in New York City, including the Old Brick Presbyterian Church and the Old Masonic Hall. Around the same time, Stillman Ackerman (1826-1899) was a successful American businessman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to educational institutions in his home state of Ohio.
Moving into the 20th century, Stillman Rockwell (1892-1978) was an American artist and illustrator, best known for his iconic cover illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post magazine. Additionally, Stillman Berry (1887-1984) was a renowned American botanist and expert on cacti and succulents, who made significant contributions to the field of plant taxonomy.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Stillman throughout history, each leaving their mark on various fields and disciplines. The name's enduring presence serves as a testament to its rich heritage and connections to the English language and culture.
People
Stillman + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Stillman as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Stillman: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Stillman?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 61 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Stillman going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 5,618,924 US residents.
Is Stillman a common name?
We classify Stillman as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 276 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Stillman most popular?
The single biggest year for Stillman was 1921, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Stillman is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Stillman in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 180 people with the name Stillman, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,022 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Stillman in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Stillman?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Stillman leans strongly male. 179 people counted with this name were male (95.7%), compared with 8 female bearers (4.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Stillman?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stillman is White at 76.1%. The next largest groups are Black (14.4%) and Hispanic (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Stillman most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Stillman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.1% (137 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Stillman in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Stillman a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Stillman in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Stillman still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Stillman in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Stillman can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Stillman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.