2000
#9,684
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,077
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.14
Rare Last name
Stengel
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of poles, rods, or sticks.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,072 Americans carry the last name Stengel. That puts it at #11,281 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 111,574 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stengel 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
3.1K
1 in 111,574
Census rank
#11,281
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,679 bearers of the surname Stengel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11281st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stengel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stengel
The surname Stengel is of German origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is believed to have originated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where it was derived from the German word "Stengel," which means "stem" or "stalk." This suggests that the name may have originally been given to someone who lived near a field or farm, or perhaps had a profession related to agriculture or horticulture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Stengel can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from the medieval period in Saxony. In this collection, there is a record from the year 1237 that mentions a person named "Henricus Stengel" from the town of Meissen.
Another early reference to the name Stengel appears in the Lübecker Oberstadtbuch, a historical record book from the city of Lübeck in northern Germany. This document, dating back to the 14th century, includes an entry for a person named "Hinricus Stengel" from the year 1348.
The name Stengel has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany. For example, there is a town called Stengelberg in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, which may have played a role in the origin or spread of the surname.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have carried the surname Stengel. One of the earliest was Matthäus Stengel (1540-1616), a German poet and theologian who served as a pastor in the city of Naumburg. Another famous bearer of the name was Karl Stengel (1859-1923), a German philologist and linguist who specialized in the study of Romance languages.
In the field of sports, Casey Stengel (1890-1975) was a legendary American baseball player and manager. He led the New York Yankees to several World Series championships and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. Another notable figure was Richard Stengel (born 1955), an American author, editor, and former United States Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
More recently, Patrick Stengel (born 1972) is a German football coach who has managed several teams in the Bundesliga, the top professional league in German football.
Throughout history, the surname Stengel has been spelled in various ways, such as Stengele, Stengl, and Stengler, reflecting regional variations and changes in spelling conventions over time. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remain rooted in the German word "Stengel," reflecting its connection to the natural world and agricultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stengel
Among Census respondents with the surname Stengel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Stengel 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 Stengel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 2,418
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 154
- Two or more races2.8% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 20
- Black or African American0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stengel
Stengel 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
#8,534
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,856
+779 bearers (+25.3%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Up 1,150 places
2020
#11,281
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,679
-1,177 bearers (-30.5%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 2,747 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,684 | 3,077 | 1.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,534 | 3,856 | 1.31 | +779 bearers (+25.3%) | Up 1,150 places |
| 2020 | #11,281 | 2,679 | 0.90 | -1,177 bearers (-30.5%) | Down 2,747 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 Stengel 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 | #8,534 | #11,281 | -32.2% |
| Count | 3,856 | 2,679 | -30.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.31 | 0.90 | -31.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stengel bearers went from 3,856 to 2,679 (-30.5% change). The surname moved down 2,747 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,534 to #11,281.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Stengel
FAQ
Stengel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stengel?
Name Census estimates that about 3,072 living Americans carry the surname Stengel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 111,574 residents.
How common is Stengel?
Stengel ranks #11,281 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 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 2,679 people with the surname Stengel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,072), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 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 Stengel.
Has Stengel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stengel went from 3,856 recorded bearers to 2,679. That is a decrease of 1,177 (-30.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,534 to #11,281.
What does the Census say about the background of Stengel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stengel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Stengel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (2,418 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stengel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Hispanic (5.7%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Stengel (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 Stengel mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of poles, rods, or sticks. 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 Stengel (0.90 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 surname Stengel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.