2000
#6,180
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.89
Rare Last name
Sterner
Derived from the German word "stern," referring to someone who is strict, severe, or rigid in demeanor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,387 Americans carry the last name Sterner. That puts it at #6,890 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 63,626 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sterner 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
5.4K
1 in 63,626
Census rank
#6,890
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,698 bearers of the surname Sterner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6890th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sterner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sterner
Among Census respondents with the surname Sterner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Sterner 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 Sterner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 4,382
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 128
- Two or more races2.3% · 109
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 37
- Black or African American0.5% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sterner
Sterner 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
#6,334
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,385
+281 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 1.83
Rank movement Down 154 places
2020
#6,890
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,698
-687 bearers (-12.8%)
Per 100,000 1.57
Rank movement Down 556 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,180 | 5,104 | 1.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,334 | 5,385 | 1.83 | +281 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 154 places |
| 2020 | #6,890 | 4,698 | 1.57 | -687 bearers (-12.8%) | Down 556 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 Sterner 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 | #6,334 | #6,890 | -8.8% |
| Count | 5,385 | 4,698 | -12.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.83 | 1.57 | -14.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sterner bearers went from 5,385 to 4,698 (-12.8% change). The surname moved down 556 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,334 to #6,890.
FAQ
Sterner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sterner?
Name Census estimates that about 5,387 living Americans carry the surname Sterner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 63,626 residents.
How common is Sterner?
Sterner ranks #6,890 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,698 people with the surname Sterner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,387), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Sterner.
Has Sterner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sterner went from 5,385 recorded bearers to 4,698. That is a decrease of 687 (-12.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,334 to #6,890.
What does the Census say about the background of Sterner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sterner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Sterner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (4,382 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sterner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Sterner (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 Sterner mean?
Derived from the German word "stern," referring to someone who is strict, severe, or rigid in demeanor. 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 Sterner (1.57 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 Sterner?
Find out how many people have the last name Sterner on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.