2000
#6,217
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,065
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.88
Rare Last name
Schutte
A German occupational surname referring to a watchman, guard, or archer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,855 Americans carry the last name Schutte. That puts it at #6,405 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 58,540 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schutte surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
5.9K
1 in 58,540
Census rank
#6,405
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,106 bearers of the surname Schutte in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6405th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schutte, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schutte
The surname Schutte originated in Germany, specifically in the regions of Lower Saxony and Westphalia. It can be traced back to the Middle Ages, around the 12th to 15th centuries. The name is derived from the Middle Low German word "schutte," which means "shooter" or "archer." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals who were skilled archers or worked as hunters or soldiers.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Schutte can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, dated back to the 13th century. The name is also mentioned in various town and village records from the 14th and 15th centuries in areas such as Münster and Osnabrück.
In the 16th century, a notable individual bearing the name Schutte was Konrad Schutte, a German theologian and reformer born in Westphalia in 1515. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation and was a close associate of Martin Luther.
Another prominent figure was Johann Schutte, a German composer and organist born in Saxony in 1592. He composed sacred and secular works and served as the court organist in Dresden.
In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Schutte (1758-1834) was a German mathematician and astronomer who made contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. He is particularly known for his work on the calculation of comet orbits.
The name Schutte has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Schutterhof, a village in Lower Saxony, and Schutterwald, a town in Baden-Württemberg. These place names may have influenced the spelling variations of the surname over time.
Another notable individual was Karl Schutte (1838-1914), a German-American architect who designed several prominent buildings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, including the Pabst Theater and the Milwaukee City Hall.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schutte
Among Census respondents with the surname Schutte, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Schutte bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Schutte surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 4,703
- Two or more races3.2% · 165
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 142
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 56
- Black or African American0.4% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schutte
Schutte appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,511
+446 bearers (+8.8%)
Per 100,000 1.87
Rank movement Up 11 places
2020
#6,405
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,106
-405 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 1.71
Rank movement Down 199 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,217 | 5,065 | 1.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,206 | 5,511 | 1.87 | +446 bearers (+8.8%) | Up 11 places |
| 2020 | #6,405 | 5,106 | 1.71 | -405 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 199 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Schutte surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,206 | #6,405 | -3.2% |
| Count | 5,511 | 5,106 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.87 | 1.71 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schutte bearers went from 5,511 to 5,106 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 199 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,206 to #6,405.
FAQ
Schutte surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schutte?
Name Census estimates that about 5,855 living Americans carry the surname Schutte. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 58,540 residents.
How common is Schutte?
Schutte ranks #6,405 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,106 people with the surname Schutte. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,855), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Schutte.
Has Schutte become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schutte went from 5,511 recorded bearers to 5,106. That is a decrease of 405 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,206 to #6,405.
What does the Census say about the background of Schutte?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schutte, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Schutte in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (4,703 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schutte appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (2.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Schutte (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Schutte mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a watchman, guard, or archer. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Schutte (1.71 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Schutte?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.