2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Stafslien
A Norwegian surname derived from the Old Norse words "stafr" meaning staff and "slien" meaning stone slab, likely referring to an ancestor's occupation or residence.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Stafslien. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stafslien 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Stafslien in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stafslien, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stafslien
The surname STAFSLIEN is of Norwegian origin, originating in the late 18th or early 19th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old Norse words "staf" meaning "staff" or "rod" and "lien" meaning "slope" or "hillside". This suggests the name may have originally referred to someone who lived on a staff-lined hillside or slope.
The earliest known records of the surname STAFSLIEN can be traced back to the rural regions of central Norway, such as the counties of Oppland and Hedmark. It is likely that the name first emerged among farming communities in these areas, where the landscape would have included staff-lined slopes and hillsides.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname STAFSLIEN is Ole Stafslien, born in 1812 in the village of Ringebu, Oppland. He was a farmer and is recorded in the local parish records of the time.
Another notable early bearer of the name was Ingrid Stafslien, born in 1835 in the village of Gausdal, also in Oppland county. She was listed in the Norwegian census of 1865 as a household servant.
In the late 19th century, the name appeared to spread beyond its rural origins as some STAFSLIEN individuals moved to larger cities and towns. For example, Hans Stafslien, born in 1872 in Ringebu, later resided in the city of Trondheim, where he worked as a carpenter.
During the great waves of Norwegian emigration to North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several STAFSLIEN families left their homeland for new opportunities abroad. One such emigrant was Olav Stafslien, born in 1887 in Gausdal, who settled in Minnesota, United States in 1912.
While not a particularly common surname, the STAFSLIEN name has been carried forward by Norwegian descendants around the world. A few notable bearers include the Norwegian author and journalist Knut Stafslien (1920-2003) and the American artist and sculptor Greta Stafslien (born 1947).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stafslien
Among Census respondents with the surname Stafslien, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Stafslien 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 Stafslien surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.0% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stafslien
Stafslien appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-7 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 2,236 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -7 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 2,236 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 Stafslien 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 | #153,769 | #156,005 | -1.5% |
| Count | 106 | 99 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stafslien bearers went from 106 to 99 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 2,236 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #156,005.
FAQ
Stafslien surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stafslien?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Stafslien. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Stafslien?
Stafslien ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Stafslien. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Stafslien.
Has Stafslien become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stafslien went from 106 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #153,769 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Stafslien?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stafslien, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Stafslien in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.0% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stafslien appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.0%), Hispanic (2.0%), Black (1.0%). 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 Stafslien (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 Stafslien mean?
A Norwegian surname derived from the Old Norse words "stafr" meaning staff and "slien" meaning stone slab, likely referring to an ancestor's occupation or residence. 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 Stafslien (0.03 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 Stafslien?
You can see how many people have the last name Stafslien on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.