2000
#2,217
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,045
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.58
Uncommon Last name
Stauffer
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of drinking cups or mugs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,470 Americans carry the last name Stauffer. That puts it at #2,203 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.39 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,557 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stauffer 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
18K
1 in 18,557
Census rank
#2,203
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,107 bearers of the surname Stauffer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.39 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2203rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stauffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stauffer
The surname Stauffer is of German origin, originating in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the German word "Stauf," which was used to describe someone who lived near a ravine or steep slope. The name may have originated in areas of present-day Germany where such geographical features were prevalent.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Stauffer can be found in old German records and documents from the 14th and 15th centuries. One notable example is Johannes Stauffer, a wealthy merchant from Nuremberg who lived in the late 15th century.
As the name spread throughout German-speaking regions, it evolved into various spellings and variations, such as Staufer, Stauffacher, and Stöffler. One notable individual with a similar surname was Johann Stöffler, a German mathematician and astronomer from the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
In the 16th century, the Stauffer name appeared in the records of Swiss Anabaptists, a Protestant religious movement that emerged during the Reformation. One of the earliest known Anabaptists with the surname was Jacob Stauffer, who was executed for his beliefs in Zurich in 1527.
As the name spread beyond German-speaking regions, it also became associated with other places and cultures. For example, in the 18th century, there was a notable French-Swiss sculptor named Jean Stauffer, who was born in Paris in 1728 and worked primarily in Switzerland.
Another significant figure with the Stauffer surname was Albrecht Stauffer, a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (the country's executive branch) in the late 19th century. He served as the President of the Swiss Confederation in 1892.
Other notable individuals with the Stauffer surname include Ethan Allen Stauffer, an American politician from Pennsylvania who served in the United States House of Representatives in the late 19th century, and David Andrew Stauffer, an American engineer and physicist known for his contributions to the study of phase transitions and critical phenomena in the 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stauffer
Among Census respondents with the surname Stauffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Stauffer 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 Stauffer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 15,103
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 433
- Two or more races2.2% · 360
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 97
- Black or African American0.4% · 70
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 44
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stauffer
Stauffer 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
#2,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,821
+776 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 5.36
Rank movement Down 90 places
2020
#2,203
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,107
+286 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 5.39
Rank movement Up 104 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,217 | 15,045 | 5.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,307 | 15,821 | 5.36 | +776 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 90 places |
| 2020 | #2,203 | 16,107 | 5.39 | +286 bearers (+1.8%) | Up 104 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 Stauffer 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 | #2,307 | #2,203 | 4.5% |
| Count | 15,821 | 16,107 | 1.8% |
| Per 100K | 5.36 | 5.39 | 0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stauffer bearers went from 15,821 to 16,107 (+1.8% change). The surname moved up 104 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,307 to #2,203.
FAQ
Stauffer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stauffer?
Name Census estimates that about 18,470 living Americans carry the surname Stauffer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,557 residents.
How common is Stauffer?
Stauffer ranks #2,203 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.39 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,107 people with the surname Stauffer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,470), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.39 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.39 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Stauffer.
Has Stauffer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stauffer went from 15,821 recorded bearers to 16,107. That is an increase of 286 (+1.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,307 to #2,203.
What does the Census say about the background of Stauffer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stauffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Stauffer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (15,103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stauffer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Stauffer (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 Stauffer mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of drinking cups or mugs. 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 Stauffer (5.39 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 Stauffer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.