2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Staeheli
A surname derived from a Swiss place name referring to a person from Stäheli.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Staeheli. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Staeheli 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Staeheli in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Staeheli, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Two or More Races (6.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Staeheli
The surname Staeheli is of Swiss origin and is believed to have originated in the 16th century. It is derived from the old German word "stahel," which means steel or iron, and was likely an occupational name for a blacksmith or metalworker.
The earliest known references to the name can be found in the canton of Bern in Switzerland, where it is thought to have first appeared. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in the parish records of Langnau, where a Hans Staeheli was mentioned in 1562.
Over time, the name spread to other parts of Switzerland, particularly in the German-speaking regions. It is also found in neighboring areas of Germany, France, and Austria, where Swiss migrants settled.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various records, including the Burgerbuch (citizen's book) of the city of Bern, which lists several Staeheli families as citizens. One notable figure from this time is Hans Rudolf Staeheli, a Swiss politician who served as a member of the council of Bern in the late 1600s.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, several individuals with the surname Staeheli made significant contributions in various fields. For example, Johann Jakob Staeheli (1716-1794) was a Swiss theologian and author, while Johann Rudolf Staeheli (1787-1861) was a Swiss painter and engraver known for his landscapes and portraits.
Another notable figure is Johannes Staeheli (1891-1979), a Swiss-born American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the Pierpont Morgan Library and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.
Other individuals of note include Hans Staeheli (1879-1943), a Swiss politician and member of the National Council, and Meret Oppenheim (1913-1985), a Swiss artist and photographer whose birth name was Meret Elisabeth Staeheli.
While the name has its roots in Switzerland, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through migration and intermarriage. However, many of the earliest and most notable references to the Staeheli surname can be traced back to its origins in the German-speaking regions of Switzerland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Staeheli
Among Census respondents with the surname Staeheli, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Two or More Races (6.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Staeheli 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 Staeheli surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino7.0% · 8
- Two or more races6.1% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Staeheli
Staeheli 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
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
+5 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,210 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-16 bearers (-12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,885 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 4,210 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -16 bearers (-12.3%) | Down 15,885 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 Staeheli 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 | #130,610 | #146,495 | -12.2% |
| Count | 130 | 114 | -12.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Staeheli bearers went from 130 to 114 (-12.3% change). The surname moved down 15,885 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #146,495.
FAQ
Staeheli surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Staeheli?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Staeheli. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Staeheli?
Staeheli ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 114 people with the surname Staeheli. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Staeheli.
Has Staeheli become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Staeheli went from 130 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 16 (-12.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,610 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Staeheli?
Among Census respondents with the surname Staeheli, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). 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 Staeheli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Staeheli appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Hispanic (7.0%), Two or More Races (6.1%). 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 Staeheli (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 Staeheli mean?
A surname derived from a Swiss place name referring to a person from Stäheli. 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 Staeheli (0.04 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 are called Staeheli?
If you just want to know how many people are called Staeheli, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.