2000
#97,848
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 172
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Staffeldt
From a Germanic surname meaning "staff-wielder" or referring to staff-bearing officials.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 239 Americans carry the last name Staffeldt. That puts it at #94,341 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,434,119 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Staffeldt 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
239
1 in 1,434,119
Census rank
#94,341
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
208
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 208 bearers of the surname Staffeldt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 94341st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Staffeldt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Staffeldt
The surname Staffeldt is of Germanic origin, specifically from the northern regions of Germany and the Netherlands. It is believed to have emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Old Germanic words "staf" meaning staff or stick, and "feld" meaning field or open land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Staffeldt can be found in the town records of Bremen, Germany, dating back to the late 15th century. The name is thought to have initially referred to a person who lived or worked on a field surrounded by wooded areas, where a staff or walking stick would have been a necessary tool.
In the 16th century, the Staffeldt name appeared in various church records and tax rolls in the region of Friesland, which spans parts of modern-day Germany and the Netherlands. This suggests that the name had spread to different areas of northern Europe by this time.
A notable figure bearing the Staffeldt surname was Hans Staffeldt, a German merchant and trader who lived in the city of Lübeck in the late 16th century. Records indicate that he was involved in the lucrative trade of Baltic goods and had business dealings across northern Europe.
In the 17th century, the Staffeldt name can be found in records from the town of Emden, located in the northwestern region of Germany. One particular family, the Staffeldts of Emden, held a prominent position in the local community and were involved in civic affairs.
Another individual of note was Johann Staffeldt, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1612 to 1679. He served as a professor at the University of Rostock and wrote several influential works on theology and ethics during his lifetime.
As the name spread across northern Europe, variations in spelling began to emerge, such as Staffeld, Staffelt, and Staffeldt. These variations likely arose due to differences in regional dialects and the transcription of the name by scribes and record-keepers.
By the 18th century, the Staffeldt name had become well-established in various parts of Germany, the Netherlands, and even in some Scandinavian countries like Denmark and Sweden, where German immigrants had settled.
One notable bearer of the name from this period was Carl Wilhelm Staffeldt, a German writer and poet who lived from 1759 to 1826. He was known for his lyrical works and is considered one of the important figures of the Romantic literary movement in Germany.
While the Staffeldt surname may not be among the most common in modern times, its rich history and origins can be traced back to the medieval era in northern Europe, where it likely originated as a descriptive name for those who lived or worked on open fields and utilized staffs or walking sticks as tools.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Staffeldt
Among Census respondents with the surname Staffeldt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Staffeldt 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 Staffeldt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 192
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 11
- Two or more races2.4% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Staffeldt
Staffeldt 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
#92,719
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 198
+26 bearers (+15.1%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Up 5,129 places
2020
#94,341
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 208
+10 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 1,622 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #97,848 | 172 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #92,719 | 198 | 0.07 | +26 bearers (+15.1%) | Up 5,129 places |
| 2020 | #94,341 | 208 | 0.07 | +10 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 1,622 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 Staffeldt 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 | #92,719 | #94,341 | -1.7% |
| Count | 198 | 208 | 5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.07 | -0.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Staffeldt bearers went from 198 to 208 (+5.1% change). The surname moved down 1,622 positions in the national ranking, going from #92,719 to #94,341.
FAQ
Staffeldt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Staffeldt?
Name Census estimates that about 239 living Americans carry the surname Staffeldt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,434,119 residents.
How common is Staffeldt?
Staffeldt ranks #94,341 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.07 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 208 people with the surname Staffeldt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (239), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.07 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 Staffeldt.
Has Staffeldt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Staffeldt went from 198 recorded bearers to 208. That is an increase of 10 (+5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #92,719 to #94,341.
What does the Census say about the background of Staffeldt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Staffeldt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Staffeldt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (192 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Staffeldt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Hispanic (5.3%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Staffeldt (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 Staffeldt mean?
From a Germanic surname meaning "staff-wielder" or referring to staff-bearing officials. 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 Staffeldt (0.07 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 Staffeldt?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Staffeldt on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.