2000
#129,619
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Stemmerman
A surname derived from the German word "Stemmer," meaning either a carpenter or a stammerer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Stemmerman. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stemmerman 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Stemmerman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stemmerman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stemmerman
The surname Stemmerman is of German origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Bavaria, where it was initially spelled as "Stemmermann". The name is derived from the German words "stamm", meaning "stem" or "trunk", and "mann", meaning "man". This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who worked as a woodcutter or lumberjack, responsible for cutting and trimming tree trunks and stems.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Fürth, Bavaria, where a certain Hans Stemmermann was mentioned in an entry dated 1572. Another early reference is in the Stadtarchiv (city archives) of Nuremberg, which contains records of a family named Stemmerman residing in the city during the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, the name appears to have spread to other parts of Germany, with records indicating Stemmermans living in various towns and villages across the country. One notable example is Johann Stemmerman, a farmer and landowner born in Holzminden, Lower Saxony, in 1632.
As the name grew more widespread, variations in spelling emerged, including Stemermann, Stemmermann, and Stemerman. These variations can be found in various historical documents and records from the 18th and 19th centuries.
One of the earliest known individuals with this surname to venture outside of Germany was Wilhelm Stemmerman, who was born in Hannover in 1788 and later emigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century, settling in Pennsylvania.
Another notable figure was Friedrich Stemmerman, a German philosopher and author born in Erfurt in 1845. He wrote several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy and was widely respected in academic circles during his lifetime.
Other individuals of note include:
1. Maria Stemmerman (1820-1892), a renowned operatic soprano from Berlin who performed across Europe in the mid-19th century.
2. Karl Stemmerman (1871-1946), a German architect and urban planner responsible for designing several iconic buildings in Berlin and Frankfurt.
3. Hans Stemmerman (1892-1976), a German military officer who served in both World War I and World War II, earning several decorations for bravery.
4. Elise Stemmerman (1901-1988), a German-born artist and sculptor who emigrated to the United States in the 1930s and became known for her abstract works.
5. Otto Stemmerman (1915-2001), a German-American engineer and inventor who held several patents for innovative technology in the field of telecommunications.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stemmerman
Among Census respondents with the surname Stemmerman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Stemmerman 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 Stemmerman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stemmerman
Stemmerman 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-13 bearers (-10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,913 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,867 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #129,619 | 121 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.7%) | Down 21,913 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Up 2,867 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 Stemmerman 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 | #151,532 | #148,665 | 1.9% |
| Count | 108 | 111 | 2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stemmerman bearers went from 108 to 111 (+2.8% change). The surname moved up 2,867 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #148,665.
FAQ
Stemmerman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stemmerman?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Stemmerman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Stemmerman?
Stemmerman ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Stemmerman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Stemmerman.
Has Stemmerman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stemmerman went from 108 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 3 (+2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Stemmerman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stemmerman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Stemmerman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stemmerman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Stemmerman (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 Stemmerman mean?
A surname derived from the German word "Stemmer," meaning either a carpenter or a stammerer. 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 Stemmerman (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 have the last name Stemmerman?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Stemmerman, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.