Stoddard last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Stoddard

An English occupational surname referring to a stud herd keeper or horse breeder.

Stoddard, 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 Stoddard surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Stoddard in America

Stoddard is the 2531st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Stoddard surname appeared 14,317 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Stoddard.

We can also compare 2010 data for Stoddard 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 2531 2352 7.33%
Count 14,317 14,096 1.56%
Proportion per 100k 4.85 5.23 -7.54%

The history of the last name Stoddard

The surname Stoddard is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "stod" meaning "stud" and "eard" meaning "place or dwelling." It initially referred to someone who lived near a stud farm or a place where horses were bred.

The name can be traced back to the 11th century in various parts of England, particularly in counties like Wiltshire, Somerset, and Gloucestershire. It first appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Stodard" and "Stodeard," reflecting early variations in spelling.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195, where a Richard Stodard is mentioned. Another notable early bearer of the name was John Stoddard, who was a member of the Parliament of England in 1295.

During the Middle Ages, the name was often associated with landowners and people of some social standing. In the 13th century, a Richard Stoddard held lands in Somerset, and a Walter Stoddard was recorded as a landowner in Wiltshire in the 14th century.

The surname Stoddard has also been linked to various place names in England, such as Stoddard's Green in Hertfordshire and Stoddard's Farm in Oxfordshire. These place names likely originated from individuals or families bearing the Stoddard surname who owned or lived on those lands.

Among notable individuals with the surname Stoddard throughout history are Sir John Stoddart (1773-1856), an English naval officer and writer; Richard Henry Stoddard (1825-1903), an American poet and critic; and Ralph Stoddart (1857-1944), an English football player and manager who played for Sunderland and England.

Other notable bearers of the Stoddard name include Charles Warren Stoddard (1843-1909), an American author and travel writer; Amos Stoddard (1762-1813), an American Revolutionary War officer and co-founder of the city of St. Louis, Missouri; and Solomon Stoddard (1643-1729), an influential Puritan minister in colonial Massachusetts.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Stoddard

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

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 Stoddard was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 91.71% 13,130
Non-Hispanic Black Only 3.31% 474
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.58% 83
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.39% 56
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.79% 256
Hispanic Origin 2.22% 318

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 Stoddard has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 91.71% 93.18% -1.59%
Black 3.31% 3.25% 1.83%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.58% 0.38% 41.67%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.39% 0.26% 40.00%
Two or More Races 1.79% 1.28% 33.22%
Hispanic 2.22% 1.65% 29.46%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Stoddard last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 12, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/stoddard-surname-popularity/.

"Stoddard last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/stoddard-surname-popularity/. Accessed 12 October, 2024

Stoddard last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/stoddard-surname-popularity/.

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