2000
#2,352
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,096
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.23
Uncommon Last name
Stoddard
An English occupational surname referring to a stud herd keeper or horse breeder.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,889 Americans carry the last name Stoddard. That puts it at #2,541 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stoddard 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 Stoddard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,572
Census rank
#2,541
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,856 bearers of the surname Stoddard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2541st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stoddard, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stoddard
Among Census respondents with the surname Stoddard, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Stoddard 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 Stoddard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 12,350
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 477
- Two or more races3.4% · 466
- Black or African American2.9% · 406
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 114
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 43
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stoddard
Stoddard 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
#2,531
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,317
+221 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 4.85
Rank movement Down 179 places
2020
#2,541
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,856
-461 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 4.64
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,352 | 14,096 | 5.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,531 | 14,317 | 4.85 | +221 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 179 places |
| 2020 | #2,541 | 13,856 | 4.64 | -461 bearers (-3.2%) | Down 10 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 Stoddard 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 | #2,531 | #2,541 | -0.4% |
| Count | 14,317 | 13,856 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 4.85 | 4.64 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stoddard bearers went from 14,317 to 13,856 (-3.2% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,531 to #2,541.
FAQ
Stoddard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stoddard?
Name Census estimates that about 15,889 living Americans carry the surname Stoddard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,572 residents.
How common is Stoddard?
Stoddard ranks #2,541 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,856 people with the surname Stoddard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,889), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Stoddard.
Has Stoddard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stoddard went from 14,317 recorded bearers to 13,856. That is a decrease of 461 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,531 to #2,541.
What does the Census say about the background of Stoddard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stoddard, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Stoddard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (12,350 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stoddard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Stoddard (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 Stoddard mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a stud herd keeper or horse breeder. 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 Stoddard (4.64 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 last name Stoddard?
Want to know how many people are called Stoddard? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.