2000
#8,650
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,498
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.30
Rare Last name
Staab
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of staffs, sticks, or rods.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,971 Americans carry the last name Staab. That puts it at #9,058 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 86,314 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Staab 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
4.0K
1 in 86,314
Census rank
#9,058
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,463 bearers of the surname Staab in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9058th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Staab, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Staab
Among Census respondents with the surname Staab, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Staab 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 Staab surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 3,251
- Two or more races2.6% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 77
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 12
- Black or African American0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Staab
Staab 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
#9,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,498
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Down 657 places
2020
#9,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,463
-35 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 1.16
Rank movement Up 249 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,650 | 3,498 | 1.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,307 | 3,498 | 1.19 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 657 places |
| 2020 | #9,058 | 3,463 | 1.16 | -35 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 249 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 Staab 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 | #9,307 | #9,058 | 2.7% |
| Count | 3,498 | 3,463 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.19 | 1.16 | -2.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Staab bearers went from 3,498 to 3,463 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 249 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,307 to #9,058.
FAQ
Staab surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Staab?
Name Census estimates that about 3,971 living Americans carry the surname Staab. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 86,314 residents.
How common is Staab?
Staab ranks #9,058 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,463 people with the surname Staab. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,971), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Staab.
Has Staab become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Staab went from 3,498 recorded bearers to 3,463. That is a decrease of 35 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,307 to #9,058.
What does the Census say about the background of Staab?
Among Census respondents with the surname Staab, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Staab in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (3,251 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Staab appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Two or More Races (2.6%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Staab (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 Staab mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of staffs, sticks, or rods. 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 Staab (1.16 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 common is the surname Staab?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Staab on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.