2000
#751
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,863
First available Census row
Per 100,000 15.52
Uncommon Last name
Stark
An English surname derived from a nickname referring to a person who was strong, rigid, or uncompromising.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 45,467 Americans carry the last name Stark. That puts it at #852 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,539 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stark 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Stark with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
45K
1 in 7,539
Census rank
#852
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
40K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 39,649 bearers of the surname Stark in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 852nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stark, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stark
The surname STARK originates from the northern German state of Lower Saxony during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old Germanic word "stark" which means strong, vigorous or powerful. The name likely started as a nickname or an occupational name for someone of formidable strength or character.
In the 11th century, the surname STARK appeared in various records across northern Germany and the Low Countries. The earliest known record is from 1066 when a knight named Æthelric Stark fought at the Battle of Hastings alongside William the Conqueror. This name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Starka de Norfolc, indicating a possible Norman origin.
The STARK name spread across Europe during the Middle Ages, with variations such as Starck, Sterk, and Sterck found in Dutch and Flemish regions. In the 14th century, Johannes Stark, a German mercenary captain, is recorded as leading troops in the Hundred Years' War.
By the 16th century, the STARK surname had become well-established in England. Sir Thomas Stark (1505-1585) was an English merchant and philanthropist who founded Stark's Charity in London. Another notable bearer was John Stark (1728-1822), an American Revolutionary War general who fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Bennington.
Other famous individuals with the STARK surname include Fremont Stark (1853-1938), an American businessman and founder of the Stark Brick Company, and Sir Walter Stark (1875-1962), a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Sindh in British India from 1923 to 1928.
In the literary world, the surname is perhaps most famously associated with the House Stark in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, although the author has stated that he did not intend any direct connection to the surname's historical origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stark
Among Census respondents with the surname Stark, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Stark 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 Stark surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 35,257
- Two or more races3.8% · 1,501
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 1,479
- Black or African American2.1% · 848
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 313
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 251
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stark
Stark 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
#827
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,735
-128 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 14.15
Rank movement Down 76 places
2020
#852
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 39,649
-2,086 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 13.27
Rank movement Down 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #751 | 41,863 | 15.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #827 | 41,735 | 14.15 | -128 bearers (-0.3%) | Down 76 places |
| 2020 | #852 | 39,649 | 13.27 | -2,086 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 25 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 Stark 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 | #827 | #852 | -3.0% |
| Count | 41,735 | 39,649 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 14.15 | 13.27 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stark bearers went from 41,735 to 39,649 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #827 to #852.
FAQ
Stark surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stark?
Name Census estimates that about 45,467 living Americans carry the surname Stark. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,539 residents.
How common is Stark?
Stark ranks #852 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 13 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 39,649 people with the surname Stark. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (45,467), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 13 of them to have the surname Stark.
Has Stark become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stark went from 41,735 recorded bearers to 39,649. That is a decrease of 2,086 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #827 to #852.
What does the Census say about the background of Stark?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stark, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Stark in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (35,257 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stark appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Stark (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 Stark mean?
An English surname derived from a nickname referring to a person who was strong, rigid, or uncompromising. 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 Stark (13.27 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 Stark?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Stark? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.