Stepp last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Stepp is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Stepp.

Meaning of Stepp

An occupational surname for someone who lived near or worked on a steppe, a large grassland plain.

Stepp, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Stepp surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Stepp in America

Stepp is the 3376th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Stepp surname appeared 10,571 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Stepp.

We can also compare 2010 data for Stepp to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 3376 3191 5.63%
Count 10,571 10,303 2.57%
Proportion per 100k 3.58 3.82 -6.49%

The history of the last name Stepp

The surname Stepp originates from Germany and is believed to have derived from the German word "Steppe," meaning "steppe" or "grassland." This suggests that the name likely originated from an area with significant steppe or grassland regions, potentially in central or eastern Germany.

The earliest recorded instances of the Stepp surname can be found in historical records dating back to the 16th century. One notable example is Johannes Stepp, a German theologian and author born in 1505 in Esslingen, Württemberg.

The name Stepp has also been associated with various place names throughout history. For instance, the town of Steppach in Bavaria, Germany, may have influenced the spelling and usage of the surname in that region.

In the 17th century, the Stepp name appeared in several historical documents, including parish records and tax rolls. One notable individual from this period was Hans Stepp, a German farmer and landowner born in 1642 in the village of Oberstenfeld, Württemberg.

As the Stepp family spread across Europe, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Steppe, Steppen, and Steppen. This was a common occurrence due to inconsistencies in record-keeping and regional dialects.

In the 18th century, the Stepp surname gained further prominence with individuals like Johann Stepp, a German composer and organist born in 1735 in Nürnberg, Bavaria.

Moving into the 19th century, the Stepp name continued to be represented by notable figures. One such individual was Friedrich Stepp, a German lawyer and politician born in 1818 in Heilbronn, Württemberg.

Throughout the 20th century, the Stepp surname has been carried by several prominent individuals across various fields. These include Carl Stepp, an American businessman and entrepreneur born in 1893 in Indiana, and Marie Stepp, a German opera singer born in 1920 in Berlin.

It is important to note that while these examples provide insights into the historical presence of the Stepp surname, the list is by no means exhaustive, and further research may uncover additional notable individuals and records associated with this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Stepp

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Stepp.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Stepp was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 90.40% 9,556
Non-Hispanic Black Only 4.76% 503
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.40% 42
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.86% 91
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.89% 200
Hispanic Origin 1.69% 179

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Stepp has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 90.40% 91.92% -1.67%
Black 4.76% 4.77% -0.21%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.40% 0.32% 22.22%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.86% 0.77% 11.04%
Two or More Races 1.89% 1.15% 48.68%
Hispanic 1.69% 1.08% 44.04%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Stepp was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Stepp, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Stepp last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 26, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/stepp-surname-popularity/.

"Stepp last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/stepp-surname-popularity/. Accessed 26 July, 2024

Stepp last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/stepp-surname-popularity/.

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