Stryker
From German, meaning "fighter" or "one who battles/struggles against".
Name Census estimates that about 1,532 living Americans carry the first name Stryker. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Stryker today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Stryker births was 2014 (104 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Stryker. 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
- • Stryker is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 223,730 Americans
Peak year
2014
104 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,086
Tracked since 1990
Census
Stryker in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,113 people with the first name Stryker, which placed it at #11,484 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
#11,484
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,113 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stryker
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stryker is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.0%) and Two or More Races (7.9%). 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 Stryker 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 Stryker at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.7% · 887
- Hispanic or Latino8.0% · 89
- Two or more races7.9% · 88
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 28
- Black or African American1.3% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 6
Popularity
Stryker: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Stryker from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 899 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Stryker remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Stryker 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 Stryker during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Strykers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. Texas, Oklahoma, California recorded the most babies named Stryker, while Wisconsin, Tennessee, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Stryker
The name Stryker originates from the Dutch language and is derived from the Middle Dutch word "strijcker," which means "one who fights" or "warrior." This name has its roots in the medieval period and was likely used to describe a skilled fighter or soldier.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Stryker can be found in the Dutch military records from the 16th century. During this time, the Netherlands was engaged in the Eighty Years' War against Spain, and many Dutch soldiers and mercenaries bore names that reflected their profession or warrior spirit.
The name Stryker has not been widely documented in ancient texts or religious scriptures, but it has been associated with various historical figures throughout the centuries. One notable individual was Stryker van Tilbourg, a Dutch military commander who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and played a crucial role in several battles against the Spanish forces.
In the 18th century, a German-born American soldier named Samuel Stryker (1730-1815) gained recognition for his service in the Revolutionary War. He fought alongside General George Washington and participated in several key battles, including the Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton.
Another prominent figure with the name Stryker was William Stryker (1838-1900), an American Presbyterian minister and educator. He served as the president of Hamilton College in New York and was known for his efforts in promoting higher education and religious values.
John Stryker (1888-1976) was an American businessman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to the field of medicine. He established the Stryker Corporation, a leading medical technology company that specializes in orthopedic devices and surgical equipment.
In literature, the name Stryker has been used as a character name in several works, including the novel "The Stryker Brigade" by Robert Curry, which follows the experiences of an American combat unit during World War II.
While the name Stryker is not as common as some other names, it has a rich history and evokes a sense of strength, bravery, and warrior spirit. Its Dutch origins and association with military figures and historical events make it a unique and meaningful choice for parents seeking a name with a strong cultural heritage.
People
Stryker + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Stryker 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
Stryker: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Stryker?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,532 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Stryker 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 223,730 US residents.
Is Stryker a common name?
We classify Stryker as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,545 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Stryker most popular?
The single biggest year for Stryker was 2014, when 104 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Stryker is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Stryker in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,113 people with the name Stryker, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,484 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 Stryker 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 Stryker?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Stryker leans strongly male. 1,102 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 16 female bearers (1.4%). 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 Stryker?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Stryker is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.0%) and Two or More Races (7.9%). 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 Stryker most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Stryker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.7% (887 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 Stryker in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Stryker a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Stryker 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 Stryker still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Stryker 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 Stryker 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 Americans are named Stryker?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.