2000
#8,254
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,693
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.37
Rare Last name
Stapp
Derived from a German place name, likely referring to a person who lived near a footbridge or stile.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,827 Americans carry the last name Stapp. That puts it at #9,356 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 89,562 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stapp 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
3.8K
1 in 89,562
Census rank
#9,356
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,337 bearers of the surname Stapp in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9356th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stapp, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stapp
The surname Stapp is of German origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to have originated from the word "stab," which means "staff" or "stick" in German. This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with occupations related to the use of staffs or sticks, such as shepherds or travelers.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the Stapp surname can be found in historical documents from regions like Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg in Germany. These records often reveal variations in spelling, including Stappe, Stapper, and Stappe.
One notable historical reference to the Stapp name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, where a certain Conradus Stapp is mentioned in a record from 1295.
In the 16th century, the Stapp surname appears in records from the city of Nuremberg, which was a prominent center of trade and commerce during that time. One prominent individual bearing this name was Hans Stapp, a respected merchant and guild member who lived in Nuremberg from 1520 to 1587.
Another notable figure with the Stapp surname was Johann Christoph Stapp, a German theologian and author who lived from 1714 to 1782. He wrote several influential works on religious subjects and held prestigious positions in the Lutheran church.
In the 19th century, the Stapp name gained recognition through the achievements of Carl Stapp, a German architect born in 1856. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings in Berlin and other German cities, including the Reichsbank building and the Reichspost building.
The surname Stapp has also been associated with place names, such as Stappenbeck and Stappendorf, which are villages located in Lower Saxony, Germany. These place names likely derived from the surname itself or from similar root words related to staffs or sticks.
Other notable individuals bearing the Stapp surname throughout history include Ernst Stapp (1857-1933), a German lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Reichstag, and Katharina Stapp (1856-1924), a German novelist and poet known for her works depicting rural life in Swabia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stapp
Among Census respondents with the surname Stapp, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Stapp 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 Stapp surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.1% · 2,941
- Two or more races4.9% · 164
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 121
- Black or African American1.6% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stapp
Stapp 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
#8,909
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,675
-18 bearers (-0.5%)
Per 100,000 1.25
Rank movement Down 655 places
2020
#9,356
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,337
-338 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Down 447 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,254 | 3,693 | 1.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,909 | 3,675 | 1.25 | -18 bearers (-0.5%) | Down 655 places |
| 2020 | #9,356 | 3,337 | 1.12 | -338 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 447 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 Stapp 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 | #8,909 | #9,356 | -5.0% |
| Count | 3,675 | 3,337 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.25 | 1.12 | -10.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stapp bearers went from 3,675 to 3,337 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 447 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,909 to #9,356.
FAQ
Stapp surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stapp?
Name Census estimates that about 3,827 living Americans carry the surname Stapp. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 89,562 residents.
How common is Stapp?
Stapp ranks #9,356 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.12 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,337 people with the surname Stapp. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,827), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.12 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Stapp.
Has Stapp become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stapp went from 3,675 recorded bearers to 3,337. That is a decrease of 338 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,909 to #9,356.
What does the Census say about the background of Stapp?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stapp, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Stapp in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (2,941 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stapp appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.1%), Two or More Races (4.9%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Stapp (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 Stapp mean?
Derived from a German place name, likely referring to a person who lived near a footbridge or stile. 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 Stapp (1.12 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 Americans have the surname Stapp?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.