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

Steffens, 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 Steffens surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Steffens in America

Steffens is the 6818th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Steffens surname appeared 4,947 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Steffens.

We can also compare 2010 data for Steffens 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 Steffens

The surname Steffens has its origins in Germany, where it emerged in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Stefan, which itself comes from the Greek name Stephanos, meaning "crown" or "wreath." The name likely referred to someone who worked as a crown-maker or a person associated with coronations.

In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as Stephanus, Stephani, and Steffen in various German regions. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval German records, including the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae and the Monumenta Germaniae Historica.

The Steffens surname began to spread across Europe as people migrated and settled in different regions. By the 16th and 17th centuries, it had become well-established in various parts of Germany, as well as in the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Steffens surname was Johann Steffens, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1573 to 1630. Another notable figure was Henrich Steffens, a German philosopher and naturalist who was born in 1773 and died in 1845.

In the Netherlands, the name Steffens is closely associated with the city of Leiden, where it can be traced back to the 16th century. One of the most famous Dutch individuals with this surname was Petrus Steffens, a renowned mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1592 to 1662.

The Steffens surname also has a long history in Scandinavia, particularly in Denmark and Norway. One of the most notable Scandinavian figures with this name was Henrik Steffens, a Danish poet and philosopher who was born in 1773 and died in 1845. He was a key figure in the Danish Golden Age of literature and philosophy.

In more recent times, the name Steffens has been carried by several notable individuals, including the American anthropologist Lincoln Steffens (1866-1936), the German writer and philosopher Rudolf Steffens (1897-1977), and the American businessman and philanthropist Charles F. Steffens (1898-1978).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Steffens

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

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 Steffens 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 Steffens 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 Steffens was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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