2000
#331
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 84,353
First available Census row
Per 100,000 31.27
Uncommon Last name
Steele
An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked with steel or was hard and enduring like steel.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 97,897 Americans carry the last name Steele. That puts it at #363 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 28.56 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,501 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Steele 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 Steele with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
98K
1 in 3,501
Census rank
#363
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
28.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
85K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 85,371 bearers of the surname Steele in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 28.56 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 363rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Steele, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Steele
The surname STEELE is of English origin and can be traced back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word 'stele', meaning 'a haft' or 'a handle'. This was likely an occupational name given to someone who made or worked with handles, hafts, or other related tools.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as 'Stele'. This suggests that the name was already well-established in England by the late 11th century.
In the 12th century, the name appears in various forms such as 'Stel', 'Stele', and 'Stell', reflecting the variations in spelling common during that era. Some of these early spellings may also be connected to place names like Stele in Staffordshire or Stelling in Kent.
Notable individuals with the surname STEELE include Sir Richard Steele (1672-1729), an Irish writer and playwright who co-founded The Spectator magazine. Another famous bearer of the name was Thomas Steele (1788-1848), an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania.
In the 13th century, the surname STEELE can be found in various records, including the Curia Regis Rolls of 1208, which mention a Richard Stel. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also list several individuals with the name, such as Walter le Stel and Adam le Stel.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the spelling of the name became more standardized as 'Steele'. Notable figures from this period include Sir Richard Steele (1617-1692), an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland.
Other prominent individuals with the surname STEELE include Sir John Steele (1758-1853), a British naval officer and explorer who served in the Royal Navy, and Sir Thomas Steele (1788-1848), a British soldier and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of the Bahamas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Steele
Among Census respondents with the surname Steele, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Steele 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 Steele surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.1% · 64,083
- Black or African American15.4% · 13,145
- Two or more races4.2% · 3,613
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 3,064
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 875
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 591
Timeline
Historical Census data for Steele
Steele 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
#355
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 88,230
+3,877 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 29.91
Rank movement Down 24 places
2020
#363
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 85,371
-2,859 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 28.56
Rank movement Down 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #331 | 84,353 | 31.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #355 | 88,230 | 29.91 | +3,877 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 24 places |
| 2020 | #363 | 85,371 | 28.56 | -2,859 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 8 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 Steele 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 | #355 | #363 | -2.3% |
| Count | 88,230 | 85,371 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 29.91 | 28.56 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Steele bearers went from 88,230 to 85,371 (-3.2% change). The surname moved down 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #355 to #363.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Steele
FAQ
Steele surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Steele?
Name Census estimates that about 97,897 living Americans carry the surname Steele. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,501 residents.
How common is Steele?
Steele ranks #363 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 28.56 per 100,000 residents, which is about 29 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 85,371 people with the surname Steele. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (97,897), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 28.56 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 28.56 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 29 of them to have the surname Steele.
Has Steele become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Steele went from 88,230 recorded bearers to 85,371. That is a decrease of 2,859 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #355 to #363.
What does the Census say about the background of Steele?
Among Census respondents with the surname Steele, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Steele in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.1% (64,083 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Steele appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.1%), Black (15.4%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Steele (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 Steele mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked with steel or was hard and enduring like steel. 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 Steele (28.56 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 Steele?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.