2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Steigleman
A German surname derived from the word "steig," meaning "path" or "trail."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Steigleman. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Steigleman 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Steigleman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Steigleman, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Steigleman
The surname Steigleman is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the Rhineland region of Germany, where it was initially spelled as "Steiglmann" or "Steiglemann." The name is derived from the German words "steig," meaning "path" or "way," and "mann," meaning "man," suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived near or maintained a path or trail.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the church records of the town of Worms, where a certain Hans Steiglmann was mentioned in an entry dated 1585. Additionally, there are records of a family by the name of Steiglemann residing in the town of Mainz during the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, the name began to appear in various historical documents and records throughout the German states. For instance, a Johann Steiglmann was listed as a citizen of the city of Frankfurt in 1632, while a Michael Steiglemann was recorded as a landowner in the village of Kirchheim in 1658.
As German immigrants began to settle in other parts of Europe and the Americas in the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Steigleman and its variants traveled with them. One notable figure was Johann Steigleman, a German-born musician who immigrated to the United States in the late 18th century and became a prominent composer and music teacher in Philadelphia, where he lived from 1786 until his death in 1826.
Another notable bearer of the name was Wilhelm Steigleman (1812-1879), a German-born artist and illustrator who gained recognition for his intricate woodcut illustrations of biblical scenes and historical events. He spent much of his career in Berlin and was considered a master of the woodcut technique.
In the late 19th century, a notable figure named Otto Steigleman (1842-1914) made significant contributions to the field of architecture in Germany. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings in cities such as Berlin and Hamburg, and his work was influenced by the Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque styles popular during that time.
Additionally, the name Steigleman has been associated with several notable academics and scholars throughout history. For example, Hans Steigleman (1876-1948) was a respected German linguist and philologist who specialized in the study of ancient Germanic languages and made significant contributions to the field of historical linguistics.
While the surname Steigleman is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of German surnames, with its origins rooted in the geographical and linguistic heritage of the Rhineland region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Steigleman
Among Census respondents with the surname Steigleman, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Steigleman 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 Steigleman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.2% · 100
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Steigleman
Steigleman 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+6 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,392 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-11 bearers (-9.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,840 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 3,392 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.5%) | Down 9,840 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 Steigleman 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 | #143,149 | #152,989 | -6.9% |
| Count | 116 | 105 | -9.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Steigleman bearers went from 116 to 105 (-9.5% change). The surname moved down 9,840 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #152,989.
FAQ
Steigleman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Steigleman?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Steigleman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Steigleman?
Steigleman ranks #152,989 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 105 people with the surname Steigleman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Steigleman.
Has Steigleman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Steigleman went from 116 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Steigleman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Steigleman, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Steigleman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.2% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Steigleman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.2%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Black (1.0%). 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 Steigleman (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 Steigleman mean?
A German surname derived from the word "steig," meaning "path" or "trail." 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 Steigleman (0.04 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 are called Steigleman?
See how many Americans have the surname Steigleman on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.