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

Stiefel, 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 Stiefel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Stiefel in America

Stiefel is the 14492nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Stiefel surname appeared 2,059 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Stiefel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Stiefel 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 Stiefel

The surname Stiefel is of German origin, derived from the word "Stiefel" which means "boot" in German. This occupational surname was initially given to shoemakers, cobblers, or those who made and repaired boots.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Stiefel can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany. One of the earliest mentions is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the principality of Anhalt, which references a "Johannes Stiffel" in 1292.

In the 14th century, the name is mentioned in the Biberacher Urkundenbuch, a collection of records from the town of Biberach an der Riss in southern Germany, where a "Cunrat Stiffel" is documented in 1348.

The Stiefel surname is also found in the Ältere Wormser Bürgerbuch, a register of citizens in the city of Worms, where a "Heinz Stifel" is recorded in 1397.

Notable individuals with the surname Stiefel include Michael Stiefel (1486-1567), a German mathematician and Protestant reformer who made significant contributions to the field of algebra. Another prominent figure was Johann Stiefel (1510-1567), a German jurist and humanist scholar.

In the 16th century, the surname is mentioned in the Stadtbuch von Freiburg im Breisgau, a historical record of the city of Freiburg, where a "Hans Stifel" is documented in 1531.

The Stiefel surname can also be found in various place names throughout Germany, such as Stiefelhöfe, a village in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and Stiefelmühle, a locality in Bavaria.

Other notable individuals with the surname Stiefel include Johann Friedrich Stiefel (1720-1785), a German writer and theologian, and Eduard Stiefel (1909-1978), a Swiss mathematician known for his contributions to numerical analysis and optimization theory.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Stiefel

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

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

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

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