2000
#1,570
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,957
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.77
Uncommon Last name
Stiles
A topographic surname for someone who lived by a stile, a series of steps allowing passage over a fence.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 23,123 Americans carry the last name Stiles. That puts it at #1,734 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,823 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stiles 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 Stiles with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 14,823
Census rank
#1,734
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,164 bearers of the surname Stiles in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1734th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stiles, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Black (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stiles
The surname Stiles is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "stigol," which means a "stile" or a set of steps allowing passage over a fence or wall. The name likely originated in the Middle Ages and was initially given as a descriptive surname to someone who lived near a stile, or possibly worked as a stile-maker.
The earliest known recorded spelling of the name Stiles is found in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1273, where it appears as "Godrich de la Stile." This suggests that the name was already in use by the 13th century.
In the famous Domesday Book of 1086, there are several references to places with names derived from the Old English word "stigol," such as Stile in Cambridgeshire and Stile in Norfolk. These place names may have influenced the development of the surname Stiles in those areas.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Stiles was Sir John Stiles, a prominent English judge and legal writer who lived from 1505 to 1592. He served as a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas and authored several legal treatises.
Another notable figure with the surname Stiles was Ezra Stiles (1727-1795), an American academic and theologian who served as the president of Yale College from 1778 until his death. He was a prominent figure in the American Enlightenment and a strong supporter of the American Revolution.
In the 17th century, the name Stiles was also found in the New World, with records showing individuals bearing the surname in colonial Massachusetts and Connecticut. One such individual was Robert Stiles (1612-1676), an early settler in Windsor, Connecticut, and a prominent landowner and militiaman.
Other notable figures with the surname Stiles include William Stiles (1689-1769), an English botanist and author of "The Professed Cook," one of the earliest printed cookbooks in English, and Sir John Stiles (1633-1704), an English baronet and member of Parliament.
Throughout its history, the surname Stiles has been found in various spellings, including Stile, Styl, Styll, and Stylle, reflecting the phonetic variations and regional dialects of different areas in England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stiles
Among Census respondents with the surname Stiles, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Black (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Stiles 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 Stiles surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.2% · 17,587
- Two or more races4.3% · 868
- Black or African American3.9% · 785
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 687
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 126
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 111
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stiles
Stiles 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
#1,689
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,357
+400 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 7.24
Rank movement Down 119 places
2020
#1,734
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,164
-1,193 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 6.75
Rank movement Down 45 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,570 | 20,957 | 7.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,689 | 21,357 | 7.24 | +400 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 119 places |
| 2020 | #1,734 | 20,164 | 6.75 | -1,193 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 45 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 Stiles 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 | #1,689 | #1,734 | -2.7% |
| Count | 21,357 | 20,164 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 7.24 | 6.75 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stiles bearers went from 21,357 to 20,164 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 45 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,689 to #1,734.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Stiles
FAQ
Stiles surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stiles?
Name Census estimates that about 23,123 living Americans carry the surname Stiles. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,823 residents.
How common is Stiles?
Stiles ranks #1,734 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 20,164 people with the surname Stiles. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (23,123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Stiles.
Has Stiles become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stiles went from 21,357 recorded bearers to 20,164. That is a decrease of 1,193 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,689 to #1,734.
What does the Census say about the background of Stiles?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stiles, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Black (3.9%). 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 Stiles in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (17,587 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stiles appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.2%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Black (3.9%). 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 Stiles (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 Stiles mean?
A topographic surname for someone who lived by a stile, a series of steps allowing passage over a fence. 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 Stiles (6.75 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 Stiles?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.