2000
#36,531
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 578
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.21
Very Rare Last name
Stargell
A topographic name referring to someone who lived near a starry meadow or pasture.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 696 Americans carry the last name Stargell. That puts it at #39,170 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 492,463 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stargell 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
696
1 in 492,463
Census rank
#39,170
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
607
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 607 bearers of the surname Stargell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 39170th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stargell, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.0%. The next largest groups are White (22.9%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stargell
The surname Stargell is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "starg," which means "stiff" or "rigid." This name likely originated in the Middle Ages, possibly as a descriptive nickname for someone who had a stiff or rigid posture.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Stargell can be traced back to the 16th century in various German regions, such as Bavaria and Saxony. In those times, the name was often spelled as "Stargel" or "Stargele," reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.
One of the earliest known references to the name Stargell can be found in the church records of the town of Fürth, in Bavaria, where a certain Hans Stargell was mentioned as a resident in the year 1568.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Stargell name spread across various parts of Germany and neighboring regions, with some families settling in areas like Silesia (now part of Poland) and Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). In these regions, the name was sometimes spelled as "Stargel" or "Stargill."
Notable individuals with the surname Stargell include:
1. Wilhelm Stargell (1830-1906), a German politician and member of the Reichstag (Imperial Diet) in the late 19th century.
2. Theodor Stargell (1856-1932), a German artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraits.
3. Erika Stargell (1902-1985), a German-born American writer and poet who emigrated to the United States in the 1930s.
4. Johann Stargell (1618-1688), a German clockmaker and inventor from Augsburg, renowned for his innovative timepieces.
5. Wilbur Stargell (1941-2001), an American professional baseball player who spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.
While the name Stargell originated in Germany, it eventually spread to other parts of the world through emigration, particularly to the United States and other countries with significant German-American communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stargell
Among Census respondents with the surname Stargell, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.0%. The next largest groups are White (22.9%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Stargell 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 Stargell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American70.0% · 425
- White22.9% · 139
- Two or more races4.8% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stargell
Stargell 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
#37,076
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 602
+24 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Down 545 places
2020
#39,170
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 607
+5 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Down 2,094 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #36,531 | 578 | 0.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #37,076 | 602 | 0.20 | +24 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 545 places |
| 2020 | #39,170 | 607 | 0.20 | +5 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 2,094 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 Stargell 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 | #37,076 | #39,170 | -5.6% |
| Count | 602 | 607 | 0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.20 | 0.20 | 1.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stargell bearers went from 602 to 607 (+0.8% change). The surname moved down 2,094 positions in the national ranking, going from #37,076 to #39,170.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Stargell
FAQ
Stargell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stargell?
Name Census estimates that about 696 living Americans carry the surname Stargell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 492,463 residents.
How common is Stargell?
Stargell ranks #39,170 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.20 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 607 people with the surname Stargell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (696), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.20 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 Stargell.
Has Stargell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stargell went from 602 recorded bearers to 607. That is an increase of 5 (+0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #37,076 to #39,170.
What does the Census say about the background of Stargell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stargell, the largest self-reported group is Black at 70.0%. The next largest groups are White (22.9%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Stargell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.0% (425 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stargell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (70.0%), White (22.9%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Stargell (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 Stargell mean?
A topographic name referring to someone who lived near a starry meadow or pasture. 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 Stargell (0.20 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 share the surname Stargell?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.