2000
#116,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Stoltenow
A German surname derived from the words "stolz" meaning proud and "now" meaning pasture or grazing land.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Stoltenow. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stoltenow 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Stoltenow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stoltenow, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stoltenow
The surname Stoltenow has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the late medieval period. The name is believed to be derived from the Low German words "stolten" meaning "brave" or "bold," and "now" meaning "now" or "at present." This suggests that the name may have been initially bestowed upon someone who exhibited courageous or daring qualities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Prussian town of Wittstock, where a Hermen Stoltenow was mentioned in a document dated 1437. The name also appeared in various records from the region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, such as the village of Ziethen, where a Hans Stoltenow was listed in a tax register from 1583.
In the 16th century, the name Stoltenow was associated with a family of minor nobility in the Duchy of Pomerania. Notable members included Johann Stoltenow (1520-1587), who served as a councilor to the Duke of Pomerania, and his son, Caspar Stoltenow (1560-1622), who held the position of a magistrate in the town of Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland).
The Stoltenow name also has a connection to the Baltic region. In the 17th century, a Christoph Stoltenow (1625-1698) was a merchant and ship owner from the port city of Stralsund, who engaged in trade with Sweden and other Baltic countries.
During the 18th century, the name spread to other parts of Germany, with records showing Stoltenows residing in various towns and cities, such as Berlin, Leipzig, and Hamburg. One notable individual from this period was Johann Friedrich Stoltenow (1727-1801), a Lutheran theologian and author from Rostock, who published several works on religious subjects.
As the centuries progressed, the name Stoltenow continued to be found across Germany, with some branches of the family also establishing themselves in neighboring countries like Austria and Switzerland. Notable bearers of the name in more recent times include the German writer and journalist, Joachim Stoltenow (1900-1982), and the Austrian painter and printmaker, Alfred Stoltenow (1896-1971).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stoltenow
Among Census respondents with the surname Stoltenow, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Stoltenow 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 Stoltenow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.1% · 106
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stoltenow
Stoltenow 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-26 bearers (-18.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 30,418 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-4 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,682 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #116,835 | 138 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | -26 bearers (-18.8%) | Down 30,418 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 3,682 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 Stoltenow 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 | #147,253 | #150,935 | -2.5% |
| Count | 112 | 108 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stoltenow bearers went from 112 to 108 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 3,682 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #150,935.
FAQ
Stoltenow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stoltenow?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Stoltenow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Stoltenow?
Stoltenow ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 108 people with the surname Stoltenow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Stoltenow.
Has Stoltenow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stoltenow went from 112 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Stoltenow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stoltenow, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Stoltenow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.1% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stoltenow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.1%), Black (0.9%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Stoltenow (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 Stoltenow mean?
A German surname derived from the words "stolz" meaning proud and "now" meaning pasture or grazing land. 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 Stoltenow (0.04 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 Stoltenow?
See how common the surname Stoltenow is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.