2000
#13,393
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,086
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Stickley
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of sticks or wooden staves.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,214 Americans carry the last name Stickley. That puts it at #14,765 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 154,812 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stickley 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Stickley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 154,812
Census rank
#14,765
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,931 bearers of the surname Stickley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14765th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stickley, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stickley
The surname Stickley has its roots in England, where it is believed to have originated in the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "sticca," which means "stick" or "staff," and the suffix "-ley," which refers to a meadow or clearing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1297, where a John de Stikkelaye is mentioned. This suggests that the name was present in the northern regions of England during the late medieval period.
In the 15th century, the name appears in various documents, such as the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where a Thomas Stykley is listed in 1465. The spelling variations during this time included Stickley, Stickleigh, and Sticklaye.
The Stickley surname is also associated with several place names in England, including Stickley in Lincolnshire and Stickley in Northumberland. These place names likely contributed to the formation of the surname, as it was a common practice for people to adopt surnames based on the places they lived or originated from.
One notable individual with the Stickley surname was John Stickley (c. 1525-1605), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Leicestershire during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Another prominent figure was William Stickley (1741-1820), an English architect and surveyor who worked on several notable buildings in London, including the Grosvenor Square and the Royal Institution.
In the 19th century, the Stickley name gained further prominence with Gustav Stickley (1858-1942), an American furniture manufacturer and leading figure in the American Craftsman movement. His designs and promotion of handcrafted, simple furniture had a significant impact on American interior design and architecture.
Another notable individual was Edward Stickley (1874-1944), an American businessman and co-founder of the Stickley Brothers Company, a furniture manufacturing company that played a vital role in the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States.
The surname Stickley has also been associated with other notable individuals throughout history, such as George Stickley (1831-1909), an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, and John Stickley (1878-1958), an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stickley
Among Census respondents with the surname Stickley, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Stickley 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 Stickley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 1,752
- Two or more races4.2% · 82
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 22
- Black or African American0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stickley
Stickley 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
#13,944
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,165
+79 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 551 places
2020
#14,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,931
-234 bearers (-10.8%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 821 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,393 | 2,086 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,944 | 2,165 | 0.73 | +79 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 551 places |
| 2020 | #14,765 | 1,931 | 0.65 | -234 bearers (-10.8%) | Down 821 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 Stickley 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 | #13,944 | #14,765 | -5.9% |
| Count | 2,165 | 1,931 | -10.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.65 | -11.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stickley bearers went from 2,165 to 1,931 (-10.8% change). The surname moved down 821 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,944 to #14,765.
FAQ
Stickley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stickley?
Name Census estimates that about 2,214 living Americans carry the surname Stickley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 154,812 residents.
How common is Stickley?
Stickley ranks #14,765 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,931 people with the surname Stickley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,214), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.65 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Stickley.
Has Stickley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stickley went from 2,165 recorded bearers to 1,931. That is a decrease of 234 (-10.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,944 to #14,765.
What does the Census say about the background of Stickley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stickley, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Stickley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (1,752 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stickley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Stickley (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 Stickley mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of sticks or wooden staves. 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 Stickley (0.65 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 many Americans have the surname Stickley?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.