Find out how popular the last name Stearns is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Stearns.

Stearns, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Stearns surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Stearns in America

Stearns is the 2479th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Stearns surname appeared 14,554 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Stearns.

We can also compare 2010 data for Stearns to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Stearns

The surname Stearns is of English origin, deriving from an Old English word "stærn" meaning stern or harsh. It is believed to have originated as a nickname for someone with a stern or severe demeanor.

The name can be traced back to the 11th century, with records showing a Walter Sterne living in Nottinghamshire, England, around 1086. The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, mentions a family named Sterne residing in Derbyshire.

The earliest recorded spelling of the surname is found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1176, where it appears as "Starn." Over time, the name evolved into various spellings, including Sterne, Stearne, and eventually Stearns.

One notable historical figure bearing the name Stearns was Isaac Stearns, born in 1601 in England. He emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 and was among the founders of Watertown, Massachusetts. His descendants went on to play significant roles in the American Revolution and the early development of the United States.

Another prominent individual was Robert Stearns, born in 1677 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a merchant and landowner who served as a judge and councilor in the colonial government of Massachusetts.

In the 19th century, George Luther Stearns (1809-1867) was a prominent American industrialist and abolitionist from Massachusetts. He played a crucial role in financing and supporting the anti-slavery movement, including John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry.

Other notable individuals with the surname Stearns include Alfred Stearns (1805-1886), a British-born American merchant and philanthropist, and Justus Stearns (1810-1885), a renowned American educator and author.

The surname Stearns has been associated with various place names, such as Stearns County in Minnesota, named after Charles T. Stearns, an early settler and fur trader. Additionally, the town of Stearns in Kentucky was named after Reverend John Stearns, a Baptist minister who played a significant role in the Great Awakening religious movement in the 18th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Stearns

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Stearns.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Stearns was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Stearns has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Stearns was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Stearns, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!