2000
#6,641
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,693
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.74
Rare Last name
Staub
A German occupational surname referring to a person who works with dust or powder, such as a miller.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,212 Americans carry the last name Staub. That puts it at #7,099 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 65,763 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Staub 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
5.2K
1 in 65,763
Census rank
#7,099
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,545 bearers of the surname Staub in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7099th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Staub, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Staub
The surname Staub has its origins in Germany, with records showing its use as early as the 13th century. It is derived from the German word "staub," meaning "dust" or "powder." This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname for someone who worked with powders or dusty materials, such as a miller or a baker.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Staub can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the year 1270. The entry mentions a certain "Henricus Staub" from the town of Grimma.
The Staub name also appears in several other historical records from various parts of Germany. For example, a 1499 document from Nuremberg lists a "Hans Staub" as a merchant guild member. In the town of Erfurt, a "Konrad Staub" is recorded as a citizen in 1534.
As for notable individuals with the Staub surname, one of the earliest was Johann Staub (1460-1522), a German theologian and reformer who played a role in the Protestant Reformation. Another prominent figure was Philipp Staub (1576-1637), a Swiss mathematician and astronomer who made important contributions to the study of comets.
In the 19th century, Johann Staub (1806-1882) was a German painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes. His contemporary, Nikolaus Staub (1812-1886), was a German architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in Stuttgart.
One of the most famous individuals with the Staub surname was René Staub (1909-1981), a French businessman and inventor who founded the Staub cookware company. His iconic enameled cast iron pots and pans, featuring the iconic "Staub" logo, are highly prized by professional chefs and home cooks alike.
While the Staub name is primarily associated with Germany, it has also been found in other European countries, such as Switzerland and France, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Staub
Among Census respondents with the surname Staub, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Staub 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 Staub surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 4,283
- Two or more races2.6% · 116
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 29
- Black or African American0.5% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Staub
Staub 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
#6,739
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,004
+311 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 1.70
Rank movement Down 98 places
2020
#7,099
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,545
-459 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 1.52
Rank movement Down 360 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,641 | 4,693 | 1.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,739 | 5,004 | 1.70 | +311 bearers (+6.6%) | Down 98 places |
| 2020 | #7,099 | 4,545 | 1.52 | -459 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 360 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 Staub 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 | #6,739 | #7,099 | -5.3% |
| Count | 5,004 | 4,545 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.70 | 1.52 | -10.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Staub bearers went from 5,004 to 4,545 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 360 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,739 to #7,099.
FAQ
Staub surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Staub?
Name Census estimates that about 5,212 living Americans carry the surname Staub. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 65,763 residents.
How common is Staub?
Staub ranks #7,099 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,545 people with the surname Staub. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,212), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Staub.
Has Staub become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Staub went from 5,004 recorded bearers to 4,545. That is a decrease of 459 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,739 to #7,099.
What does the Census say about the background of Staub?
Among Census respondents with the surname Staub, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Staub in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (4,283 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Staub appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Two or More Races (2.6%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Staub (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 Staub mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who works with dust or powder, such as a miller. 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 Staub (1.52 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 Staub?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Staub at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.