Find out how popular the last name Staab is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Staab.

Staab, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Staab surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Staab in America

Staab is the 9307th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Staab surname appeared 3,498 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Staab.

We can also compare 2010 data for Staab to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Staab

The surname Staab is of German origin, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Old German word "stap," which means "stake" or "staff." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked with stakes or staffs, such as a staff maker or fence builder.

The Staab surname is most commonly associated with the regions of Hesse and Bavaria in Germany, where it first appeared in historical records. In the 1500s, the name was recorded in various spellings, including "Stab," "Stabe," and "Staebbe," reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling at that time.

One of the earliest known references to the Staab name can be found in the records of the town of Marburg, in Hesse, where a Johann Staab was mentioned in a document from 1583. Another early record comes from the town of Würzburg, in Bavaria, where a Michael Staab was recorded in 1610.

Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the Staab surname. One of the earliest was Hans Staab (1541-1615), a German painter and engraver who was active in the late 16th century. His works included religious paintings and engravings for books and manuscripts.

Another prominent figure was Johann Staab (1675-1745), a German architect and builder who was responsible for the construction of several churches and public buildings in the Rhineland region during the 18th century.

In the 19th century, Friedrich Staab (1815-1892) was a notable German physician and scientist who made significant contributions to the study of physiology and pathology. He served as a professor at the University of Erlangen and published numerous influential works in his field.

During the same period, Karl Staab (1832-1899) was a German military officer and politician who served as a member of the Reichstag, the parliament of the German Empire, from 1881 to 1893.

More recently, the American astronaut Mary Ellen Staab (born 1952) has carried the surname with distinction. She was a NASA astronaut who flew on two Space Shuttle missions, STS-51-B in 1985 and STS-83 in 1997, logging over 26 days in space.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Staab

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Staab.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Staab was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Staab has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Staab was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Staab, please contact us.

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