2000
#3,462
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,436
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.50
Uncommon Last name
Steed
An English occupational surname referring to someone who tended horses or worked in a stable.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,338 Americans carry the last name Steed. That puts it at #3,520 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,231 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Steed 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 Steed with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 30,231
Census rank
#3,520
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.9K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,887 bearers of the surname Steed in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3520th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Steed, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (17.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Steed
The surname Steed is of English origin and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "stede," which means "steed" or "horse." The name likely originated as an occupational name for someone who worked with horses, such as a stable hand or a horse breeder.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Steed can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from 1195, which mention a William Stede. The name also appears in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, which list a John Stede.
The Steed name is associated with several place names in England, such as Stede Hill in Lincolnshire and Stede Field in Derbyshire. These place names likely reflect the presence of individuals with the Steed surname in those areas.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various forms, including Stede, Steed, and Stede. One notable figure from this period was John Stede, a wealthy merchant and landowner from Somerset who lived in the late 1300s.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Steed surname became more widespread across England. One prominent individual was Sir Thomas Steed (1545-1624), a member of Parliament and landowner from Wiltshire.
In the 18th century, the Steed name was particularly prevalent in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex. Notable individuals from this time include William Steed (1721-1801), a renowned clockmaker from Bury St Edmunds, and Reverend Henry Steed (1742-1828), a clergyman and author from Norfolk.
The 19th century saw the Steed surname spread further across England and into other parts of the British Isles. One notable figure was Sir John Steed (1825-1892), a British engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of railways and bridges.
Another prominent individual was Alfred Steed (1855-1923), an English cricketer who played for Kent County Cricket Club and scored over 14,000 runs in his career.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Steed
Among Census respondents with the surname Steed, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (17.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Steed 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 Steed surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.1% · 7,428
- Black or African American17.0% · 1,685
- Two or more races3.8% · 378
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 292
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 58
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 46
Timeline
Historical Census data for Steed
Steed 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
#3,484
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,250
+814 bearers (+8.6%)
Per 100,000 3.47
Rank movement Down 22 places
2020
#3,520
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,887
-363 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 3.31
Rank movement Down 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,462 | 9,436 | 3.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,484 | 10,250 | 3.47 | +814 bearers (+8.6%) | Down 22 places |
| 2020 | #3,520 | 9,887 | 3.31 | -363 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 36 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 Steed 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 | #3,484 | #3,520 | -1.0% |
| Count | 10,250 | 9,887 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 3.47 | 3.31 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Steed bearers went from 10,250 to 9,887 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,484 to #3,520.
FAQ
Steed surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Steed?
Name Census estimates that about 11,338 living Americans carry the surname Steed. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,231 residents.
How common is Steed?
Steed ranks #3,520 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.31 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,887 people with the surname Steed. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,338), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.31 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Steed.
Has Steed become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Steed went from 10,250 recorded bearers to 9,887. That is a decrease of 363 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,484 to #3,520.
What does the Census say about the background of Steed?
Among Census respondents with the surname Steed, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (17.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Steed in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.1% (7,428 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Steed appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.1%), Black (17.0%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Steed (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 Steed mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who tended horses or worked in a stable. 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 Steed (3.31 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 have the last name Steed?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Steed? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.