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

Sternfels, 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 Sternfels surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sternfels in America

Sternfels is the 124548th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sternfels surname appeared 138 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Sternfels.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sternfels 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 Sternfels

The surname STERNFELS is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German words "stern" meaning "star" and "fels" meaning "rock" or "cliff". It likely originated as a toponymic name, referring to someone who lived near a prominent rock formation or cliff resembling a star shape.

In its earliest recorded instances, the name appeared in various Germanic regions during the medieval period. Variations in spelling such as Sternfelss, Sternnfels, and Sternfelse can be found in historical documents from the 13th to 16th centuries.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Sternfels, a merchant and landowner in the town of Heilbronn, Germany, who lived in the late 15th century. Records from the city archives mention his name in connection with land transactions and trade dealings.

Another notable STERNFELS was Christoph Sternfels (1513-1567), a German Protestant theologian and reformer who played a role in the Reformation movement. He was born in Bamberg and later became a professor at the University of Heidelberg.

In the 17th century, the name appears in records from the Palatinate region of Germany, where a family of STERNFELS landowners and vintners were known for their vineyards and wine production.

Moving to the 19th century, Johann Sternfels (1801-1879) was a German painter and lithographer known for his landscapes and city scenes. He was born in Cologne and spent much of his career in Munich.

Across the Atlantic, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name in North America was that of Wilhelm Sternfels, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1740s and worked as a blacksmith.

While not as common as some other German surnames, STERNFELS has persisted through the centuries, with various branches of the family spreading to different parts of Europe and beyond.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sternfels

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

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

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

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