2000
#13,311
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.78
Rare Last name
Stender
Derived from the German word "stender," meaning a pole, post, or upright support, likely referring to a tall person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,399 Americans carry the last name Stender. That puts it at #13,835 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 142,874 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stender 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
2.4K
1 in 142,874
Census rank
#13,835
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,092 bearers of the surname Stender in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13835th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stender, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stender
The surname STENDER is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the northern regions near the North Sea coast. It is thought to have derived from the Low German word "stender," which referred to a watchtower or a raised platform used for coastal defense and surveillance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name STENDER can be found in the medieval records of the city of Hamburg, dating back to the 14th century. In a document from 1367, a man named Hinrich Stender is mentioned as a resident of the city's St. Petri parish.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name STENDER appears in various records across northern Germany, particularly in the regions of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg. One notable bearer of the name was Johann Stender (1619-1679), a Lutheran pastor and author who wrote extensively on the Low German language and culture.
In the 18th century, the STENDER name gained prominence in the Baltic region, particularly in what is now Latvia. Johann Christoph Stender (1720-1796) was a prominent Baltic German linguist and author who made significant contributions to the study of the Latvian language.
As the STENDER family spread across Europe, variations in spelling emerged, such as Stender, Stender, and Stender. One of the most famous bearers of the name was Walter Stender (1874-1957), a German film director and producer who worked in the early years of the German film industry.
Other notable individuals with the surname STENDER include:
1. Hans Stender (1903-1963), a German politician and member of the Bundestag.
2. Erich Stender (1886-1967), a German architect known for his work in the Bauhaus style.
3. Gottfried Stender (1672-1748), a German composer and organist active in the Baroque period.
4. Karl Stender (1879-1951), a German-American artist and illustrator best known for his work in children's books.
5. Helene Stender (1876-1942), a Swedish author and feminist activist who advocated for women's rights and education.
While the STENDER surname is most commonly associated with Germany and the Baltic region, it has also spread to other parts of the world through emigration, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stender
Among Census respondents with the surname Stender, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Stender 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 Stender surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 1,911
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 103
- Two or more races2.0% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 32
- Black or African American0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stender
Stender 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
#12,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,462
+362 bearers (+17.2%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Up 735 places
2020
#13,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,092
-370 bearers (-15.0%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 1,259 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,311 | 2,100 | 0.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,576 | 2,462 | 0.83 | +362 bearers (+17.2%) | Up 735 places |
| 2020 | #13,835 | 2,092 | 0.70 | -370 bearers (-15.0%) | Down 1,259 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 Stender 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 | #12,576 | #13,835 | -10.0% |
| Count | 2,462 | 2,092 | -15.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.83 | 0.70 | -15.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stender bearers went from 2,462 to 2,092 (-15.0% change). The surname moved down 1,259 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,576 to #13,835.
FAQ
Stender surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stender?
Name Census estimates that about 2,399 living Americans carry the surname Stender. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 142,874 residents.
How common is Stender?
Stender ranks #13,835 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,092 people with the surname Stender. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,399), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Stender.
Has Stender become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stender went from 2,462 recorded bearers to 2,092. That is a decrease of 370 (-15.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,576 to #13,835.
What does the Census say about the background of Stender?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stender, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.9%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Stender in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (1,911 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stender appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Hispanic (4.9%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Stender (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 Stender mean?
Derived from the German word "stender," meaning a pole, post, or upright support, likely referring to a tall person. 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 Stender (0.70 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 common is the surname Stender?
If you just want to know how many people are called Stender, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.