2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Stakelin
A surname derived from a geographical location or place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Stakelin. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stakelin 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Stakelin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stakelin, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Black (1.8%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stakelin
The surname Stakelin is of German origin, first appearing in records from the 13th century. It is derived from the Old German words "staken" meaning "stake" or "pole," and "lein" meaning "little," suggesting it may have originally referred to someone who lived near a small staked fence or boundary marker.
The earliest known record of the name is found in a manuscript from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, dated 1287, which mentions a "Hermannus Stakelin" as a local landowner. This region was likely the original homeland of the Stakelin family before they began to spread to other parts of Germany and beyond.
In the 14th century, variations of the name like "Stachelein" and "Stachelin" appear in tax rolls and legal documents from towns like Nuremberg and Augsburg, indicating the family had established roots in these areas as well. A notable early bearer was Ulrich Stachelin (c.1325-1392), a prominent merchant and city councilor in Ulm.
By the 15th century, the name had spread to Switzerland, where it was recorded as "Steckelin" and "Stägelin" in canton Zürich. Hans Stägelin (1460-1528) was a respected theologian and reformer who played a role in the Swiss Protestant Reformation under Zwingli.
As the Stakelin family continued to disperse in the following centuries, branches emerged across central Europe. The Dutch painter Jacob Stakelin (1679-1755) came from a line based in the Netherlands, while the German philosopher Karl Stakelin (1797-1868) hailed from a long-established Swabian family.
Other notable Stakelins include the 19th century Swiss novelist Jakob Stakelin (1818-1888), the German artist Emil Stakelin (1874-1943), and the British Olympic rower Theodore Stakelin (1886-1957) whose ancestors had emigrated from Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stakelin
Among Census respondents with the surname Stakelin, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Black (1.8%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Stakelin 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 Stakelin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.3% · 108
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stakelin
Stakelin 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
+11 bearers (+9.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,190 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-13 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,072 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+9.7%) | Up 1,190 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 13,072 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 Stakelin 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 | #135,593 | #148,665 | -9.6% |
| Count | 124 | 111 | -10.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stakelin bearers went from 124 to 111 (-10.5% change). The surname moved down 13,072 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #148,665.
FAQ
Stakelin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stakelin?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Stakelin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Stakelin?
Stakelin ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Stakelin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Stakelin.
Has Stakelin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stakelin went from 124 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Stakelin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stakelin, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Black (1.8%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Stakelin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stakelin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.3%), Black (1.8%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Stakelin (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 Stakelin mean?
A surname derived from a geographical location or place name. 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 Stakelin (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 common is the surname Stakelin?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Stakelin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.