2000
#6,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,940
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.83
Rare Last name
Stadler
A German occupational surname referring to a person who lived or worked at a town's cattle barn or stable.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,685 Americans carry the last name Stadler. That puts it at #6,561 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 60,291 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stadler 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
5.7K
1 in 60,291
Census rank
#6,561
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,958 bearers of the surname Stadler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6561st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stadler, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stadler
The surname Stadler originated in Germany and can be traced back to the early 13th century. It is derived from the Old High German word "stat," meaning town or city, and the suffix "-ler," which indicates a person's occupation or place of origin. As such, the name initially referred to someone who lived in or came from a town or city.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Stadler can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Franconia, which mentions a "Conradus Stadler" in 1245. The name also appears in various other historical records, such as the Nuremberg City Archives, which document a "Hans Stadler" in 1396.
The Stadler name has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Johann Stadler (c. 1480-1540), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister at the court of the Dukes of Bavaria. Another was Maximilian Stadler (1748-1833), an Austrian composer and music theorist who studied with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and later became the court composer in Vienna.
In the 18th century, the Stadler family established themselves as prominent clockmakers in the Black Forest region of Germany. Notable members include Johann Stadler (1736-1804), who is credited with inventing the musical clock, and his son, Gottlieb Stadler (1780-1852), who continued the family's clockmaking tradition.
The name Stadler has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany, such as Stadlern in Bavaria and Stadlerberg in Saxony. These place names likely derived from the same root word as the surname, reflecting the connection between the name and its geographical origins.
Other notable individuals with the surname Stadler include Ernst Stadler (1883-1914), an Austrian poet and playwright; Max Stadler (1897-1963), a German film director and screenwriter; and Thecla Stadler (1897-1959), a German sculptor and ceramist active in the Bauhaus movement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stadler
Among Census respondents with the surname Stadler, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Stadler 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 Stadler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 4,489
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 220
- Two or more races3.1% · 152
- Black or African American1.3% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stadler
Stadler 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
#6,535
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,186
+246 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.76
Rank movement Down 188 places
2020
#6,561
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,958
-228 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 1.66
Rank movement Down 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,347 | 4,940 | 1.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,535 | 5,186 | 1.76 | +246 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 188 places |
| 2020 | #6,561 | 4,958 | 1.66 | -228 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 26 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 Stadler 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 | #6,535 | #6,561 | -0.4% |
| Count | 5,186 | 4,958 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.76 | 1.66 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stadler bearers went from 5,186 to 4,958 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,535 to #6,561.
FAQ
Stadler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stadler?
Name Census estimates that about 5,685 living Americans carry the surname Stadler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 60,291 residents.
How common is Stadler?
Stadler ranks #6,561 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.66 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 4,958 people with the surname Stadler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,685), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.66 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 Stadler.
Has Stadler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stadler went from 5,186 recorded bearers to 4,958. That is a decrease of 228 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,535 to #6,561.
What does the Census say about the background of Stadler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stadler, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Stadler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (4,489 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stadler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Hispanic (4.4%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Stadler (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 Stadler mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who lived or worked at a town's cattle barn or stable. 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 Stadler (1.66 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 Stadler?
You can see how many people have the last name Stadler on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.