2000
#14,664
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,859
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Stills
An occupational surname for someone who operated a still, producing alcoholic beverages such as whisky or moonshine.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,099 Americans carry the last name Stills. That puts it at #15,430 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 163,294 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stills 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 163,294
Census rank
#15,430
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,830 bearers of the surname Stills in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15430th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stills, the largest self-reported group is White at 50.7%. The next largest groups are Black (38.0%) and Two or More Races (7.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stills
The surname Stills is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "styll" or "still," meaning a calm or quiet area, often referring to a body of water. This name likely originated in the early medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century, and was initially used as a topographic surname, describing someone who lived near a still or peaceful body of water.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Stills can be found in various medieval records and documents. One notable example is the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from 1212, which mention a person named Robert de la Stille. This entry suggests that the name was already in use and potentially derived from a specific place name.
In the 13th century, the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, where it is spelled as "Stille." This variation in spelling was common during this period, as standardized spelling was not yet widely adopted.
The Stills surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded figures bearing this name was William Stills, a prominent merchant from London who lived in the late 14th century.
During the 16th century, the name gained prominence with Sir John Stills, a respected English judge and Member of Parliament. He was born around 1510 and served as Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer from 1559 to 1592.
Another significant figure was Edward Stills, an English explorer and navigator who accompanied Sir Francis Drake on his famous circumnavigation of the globe from 1577 to 1580. Stills played a crucial role in this historic voyage and is mentioned in several accounts of the expedition.
In the 17th century, the Stills surname was associated with the Puritan movement in England. Reverend Samuel Stills, born in 1602, was a prominent Puritan minister and author who advocated for religious reforms and published several influential works.
During the 19th century, the name gained recognition in the field of science with John Stills, an English chemist and inventor born in 1818. He is best known for developing the Stills apparatus, a device used for distillation and purification processes in chemistry laboratories.
While the Stills surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through migration and settlement in various colonies and territories. However, its origin and early history are firmly rooted in the English language and the topographic descriptions of the medieval period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stills
Among Census respondents with the surname Stills, the largest self-reported group is White at 50.7%. The next largest groups are Black (38.0%) and Two or More Races (7.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Stills 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 Stills surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.7% · 927
- Black or African American38.0% · 695
- Two or more races7.4% · 135
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stills
Stills 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
#14,368
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,081
+222 bearers (+11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Up 296 places
2020
#15,430
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,830
-251 bearers (-12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 1,062 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,664 | 1,859 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,368 | 2,081 | 0.71 | +222 bearers (+11.9%) | Up 296 places |
| 2020 | #15,430 | 1,830 | 0.61 | -251 bearers (-12.1%) | Down 1,062 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 Stills 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 | #14,368 | #15,430 | -7.4% |
| Count | 2,081 | 1,830 | -12.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.61 | -13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stills bearers went from 2,081 to 1,830 (-12.1% change). The surname moved down 1,062 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,368 to #15,430.
FAQ
Stills surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stills?
Name Census estimates that about 2,099 living Americans carry the surname Stills. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 163,294 residents.
How common is Stills?
Stills ranks #15,430 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 1,830 people with the surname Stills. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,099), 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 Stills.
Has Stills become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stills went from 2,081 recorded bearers to 1,830. That is a decrease of 251 (-12.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,368 to #15,430.
What does the Census say about the background of Stills?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stills, the largest self-reported group is White at 50.7%. The next largest groups are Black (38.0%) and Two or More Races (7.4%). 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 Stills in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.7% (927 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stills appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (50.7%), Black (38.0%), Two or More Races (7.4%). 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 Stills (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 Stills mean?
An occupational surname for someone who operated a still, producing alcoholic beverages such as whisky or moonshine. 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 Stills (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 common is the surname Stills?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Stills at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.