2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Stekel
A surname potentially derived from "Stikel" meaning thorn or thorny place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Stekel. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stekel 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Stekel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stekel, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stekel
The surname Stekel is believed to have originated in the German-speaking regions of Central Europe, likely in the areas of modern-day Germany or Austria. It is thought to derive from the German word "Stickel," which means "stick" or "staff." This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname referring to someone who made or worked with sticks or staffs, such as a woodworker or a walking stick maker.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, Germany, dating back to the 15th century. In these records, a certain Hans Stekel is mentioned as a resident of the city in the year 1472.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various census records and tax rolls in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, indicating its presence in these areas during that time period. For example, a Johannes Stekel is listed as a landowner in the village of Lichtenfels, Bavaria, in 1534.
As the name spread across Central Europe, variations in spelling emerged, such as Steckl, Steckel, and Steckel. These variations likely reflect regional dialects and the preferences of individual scribes and record-keepers.
One notable individual with the surname Stekel was Wilhelm Stekel, an Austrian psychologist and disciple of Sigmund Freud. He was born in 1868 in Boleraz, Austria (now part of Slovakia), and became a prominent figure in the development of psychoanalytic theory. He wrote several influential works, including "The Language of Dreams" and "Compulsion and Doubt," before his death in 1940.
Another individual of note was Johann Stekel, a German composer and organist who lived in the 18th century. He was born in 1719 in Freiberg, Saxony, and is known for his compositions for organ and other church music.
In the realm of literature, there was Johanna Stekel, a German novelist and poet who lived in the 19th century. She was born in 1822 in Darmstadt, Hesse, and gained recognition for her novels and poetry collections, which often explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
The name Stekel can also be found in the historical records of Switzerland, where a family by that name settled in the town of Zurich in the 17th century. One member of this family, Hans Rudolf Stekel, was a prominent merchant and city councilor in Zurich during the late 1600s.
While the surname Stekel is not among the most common in modern times, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and geographic regions, reflecting the diverse cultural influences and movements of people across Central Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stekel
Among Census respondents with the surname Stekel, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Stekel 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 Stekel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 106
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stekel
Stekel appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,130 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Up 2,130 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 Stekel 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 | #153,769 | #151,639 | 1.4% |
| Count | 106 | 107 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stekel bearers went from 106 to 107 (+0.9% change). The surname moved up 2,130 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #151,639.
FAQ
Stekel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stekel?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Stekel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Stekel?
Stekel ranks #151,639 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 107 people with the surname Stekel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Stekel.
Has Stekel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stekel went from 106 recorded bearers to 107. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Stekel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stekel, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Stekel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stekel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Stekel (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 Stekel mean?
A surname potentially derived from "Stikel" meaning thorn or thorny place. 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 Stekel (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 Americans have the surname Stekel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.