2000
#14,101
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,958
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Stiefel
An occupational surname for a person who made or sold boots.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,089 Americans carry the last name Stiefel. That puts it at #15,485 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 164,076 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stiefel 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
2.1K
1 in 164,076
Census rank
#15,485
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,822 bearers of the surname Stiefel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15485th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stiefel, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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 One of the earliest mentions is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the principality of Anhalt, which references a "Johannes Stiffel" in 1292.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stiefel
Among Census respondents with the surname Stiefel, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Stiefel 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 Stiefel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 1,663
- Two or more races4.2% · 77
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 53
- Black or African American0.7% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stiefel
Stiefel 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
#14,492
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,059
+101 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 391 places
2020
#15,485
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,822
-237 bearers (-11.5%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 993 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,101 | 1,958 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,492 | 2,059 | 0.70 | +101 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 391 places |
| 2020 | #15,485 | 1,822 | 0.61 | -237 bearers (-11.5%) | Down 993 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 Stiefel 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 | #14,492 | #15,485 | -6.9% |
| Count | 2,059 | 1,822 | -11.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.61 | -12.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stiefel bearers went from 2,059 to 1,822 (-11.5% change). The surname moved down 993 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,492 to #15,485.
FAQ
Stiefel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stiefel?
Name Census estimates that about 2,089 living Americans carry the surname Stiefel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 164,076 residents.
How common is Stiefel?
Stiefel ranks #15,485 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,822 people with the surname Stiefel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,089), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Stiefel.
Has Stiefel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stiefel went from 2,059 recorded bearers to 1,822. That is a decrease of 237 (-11.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,492 to #15,485.
What does the Census say about the background of Stiefel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stiefel, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Stiefel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (1,663 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stiefel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Stiefel (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 Stiefel mean?
An occupational surname for a person who made or sold boots. 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 Stiefel (0.61 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 people have the surname Stiefel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.