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

Stern, 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 Stern surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Stern in America

Stern is the 1418th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Stern surname appeared 25,074 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 9 people would have the surname Stern.

We can also compare 2010 data for Stern 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.

The history of the last name Stern

The surname Stern is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "stern," meaning "star." It likely originated as a descriptive surname, given to someone who lived near a house with a star hanging over the door or bore a resemblance to a star.

The name can be traced back to the 13th century in German-speaking regions of Europe. One of the earliest recorded instances is Heinrich Stern, a merchant from Strasbourg, France, who lived in the early 1300s. Another early record is from the Bavarian town of Landshut, where a man named Ulrich Stern is mentioned in a document from 1348.

In England, the surname Stern is thought to have been introduced by German immigrants in the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the earliest recorded examples is John Stern, who was born in London in 1580.

Over the centuries, the surname has been spelled in various ways, including Sterne, Starn, and Starne. It is also related to the place name Sternberg, which means "star mountain" in German.

Notable individuals with the surname Stern throughout history include:

1. Sir Thomas Stern (1604-1683), an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1661.
2. Daniel Stern (1647-1737), a German theologian and philosopher who was a prominent figure in the Pietist movement.
3. Marie de Vichy-Chamrond, Marquise du Deffand (1697-1780), a French woman of letters and prominent salon hostess, whose maiden name was Stern.
4. Laurence Stern (1713-1768), an Irish novelist best known for his novel "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman."
5. Isaac Stern (1920-2001), a renowned American violinist and conductor who helped revive public interest in classical music.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Stern

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

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 Stern was:

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 Stern has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Stern was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Stern, 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!