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

Stivers, 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 Stivers surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Stivers in America

Stivers is the 7534th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Stivers surname appeared 4,412 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Stivers.

We can also compare 2010 data for Stivers 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 Stivers

The surname Stivers originated in Germany and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old German word "stieben" which means "to scatter or disperse". The name likely referred to an occupation such as a miller or thresher, someone who scattered grain or flour.

The earliest known record of the name appears in a German parish register from 1285, where it was spelled "Stieber". Similar spellings from that time include "Styver", "Stiver", and "Stivers". These variations likely emerged due to local dialects and regional pronunciations.

In the 16th century, the name Stivers began appearing in records from the Netherlands and parts of Belgium, suggesting that some bearers of the name had migrated from Germany to these regions. One notable early bearer was Hendrick Stivers, a merchant from Amsterdam born in 1543.

The Stivers name first appeared in England in the late 17th century, likely brought over by German or Dutch immigrants. A record from 1698 in London mentions a Thomas Stivers, a brewer. Around this time, the name was also sometimes anglicized to "Stivers" or "Styvers".

In colonial America, one of the earliest recorded Stivers was Jacob Stivers, who emigrated from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania in the early 1700s. His descendants spread throughout the American colonies and later the United States.

Other notable people with the Stivers surname include:

• Henry Stivers (1830-1915), an American businessman and philanthropist from Ohio.
• John Stivers (1835-1899), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War.
• Mary Stivers (1872-1946), an American educator and social activist from Indiana.
• William Stivers (1877-1965), an American judge and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Ohio.
• Albert Stivers (1895-1975), an American baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Stivers

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

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

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

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