2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Stotter
A surname derived from the German word "stuttern," meaning to stammer or stutter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Stotter. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stotter 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 Stotter with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Stotter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stotter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stotter
The surname STOTTER is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest known records dating back to the 13th century. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "stoteren," which means "to stutter" or "to stammer." This likely suggests that the name was originally a descriptive one, given to someone who had a speech impediment or difficulty speaking clearly.
In the 14th century, the name STOTTER appeared in various records and manuscripts, including the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the German state of Saxony. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Hans Stotter, a merchant from the city of Nuremberg who lived in the late 15th century.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name STOTTER became more widespread across German-speaking regions, with variations in spelling such as Stotter, Stötter, and Stöter. One notable bearer of this surname was Johann Stotter, a Lutheran theologian and author from Saxony, who lived from 1597 to 1670.
In the 18th century, the STOTTER name appeared in several German-language records, including church registries and land deeds. A notable individual from this period was Friedrich Wilhelm Stotter, a German painter and engraver who was born in 1746 and died in 1819.
As the STOTTER surname spread across Europe, it also found its way to other regions, including the United Kingdom. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in Britain was that of William Stotter, a merchant from London who lived in the early 19th century.
Other notable individuals with the surname STOTTER throughout history include August Stotter, a German journalist and writer who lived from 1822 to 1896, and Karl Stotter, an Austrian painter and illustrator who was born in 1857 and died in 1936.
While the surname STOTTER has its roots in Germany, it has since been carried by individuals across various parts of the world, reflecting the migration and dispersal of families over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stotter
Among Census respondents with the surname Stotter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Stotter 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 Stotter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 104
- Black or African American2.7% · 3
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stotter
Stotter 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
+5 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,441 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+5 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,104 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 4,441 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.7%) | Up 5,104 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 Stotter 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 | #153,769 | #148,665 | 3.3% |
| Count | 106 | 111 | 4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stotter bearers went from 106 to 111 (+4.7% change). The surname moved up 5,104 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #148,665.
FAQ
Stotter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stotter?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Stotter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Stotter?
Stotter ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Stotter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Stotter.
Has Stotter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stotter went from 106 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 5 (+4.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Stotter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stotter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Stotter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stotter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Black (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Stotter (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 Stotter mean?
A surname derived from the German word "stuttern," meaning to stammer or stutter. 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 Stotter (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 Stotter?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Stotter on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.