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

Sterner, 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 Sterner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sterner in America

Sterner is the 6334th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sterner surname appeared 5,385 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Sterner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sterner 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 Sterner

The surname STERNER has its origins in Germany and is derived from the Middle High German word "sternære" which means a person who makes or deals in stars. It is believed that the name originally referred to a maker of spurs or someone who worked with spurs.

The surname can be traced back to the 14th century in the region of Bavaria, where it was first recorded as "Sternær". Over time, the spelling evolved to "Sterner" as it spread to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Nuremberg city archives from 1389, where a certain Hans Sterner is mentioned as a citizen. Another notable early reference is in the Württemberg tax records of 1441, which list a Conrat Sterner as a taxpayer.

In the 16th century, the name appears in the records of the Protestant Reformation, with a Johann Sterner (1500-1566) being a prominent Lutheran pastor and theologian in Saxony. Around the same time, a Matthias Sterner (1521-1589) was a renowned jurist and professor of law at the University of Ingolstadt.

The name continued to spread throughout Germany and neighboring regions, with notable bearers including the composer Johann Friedrich Sterner (1689-1753) and the philosopher and writer Johann Jakob Sterner (1728-1786).

As the name spread across Europe, it also found its way to England, where a variant spelling, "Sturner", can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, referring to a landowner in Lincolnshire.

Other notable individuals with the surname STERNER include the German botanist and naturalist Georg Sterner (1765-1840), the Swedish painter Gustaf Olof Sterner (1804-1887), and the American composer and musician Ralph Sterner (1923-2011).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sterner

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

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

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

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