2000
#8,567
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,539
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.31
Rare Last name
Stouffer
A German occupational surname for a baker or a stove maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,847 Americans carry the last name Stouffer. That puts it at #9,307 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 89,097 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stouffer 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
3.8K
1 in 89,097
Census rank
#9,307
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,355 bearers of the surname Stouffer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9307th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stouffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stouffer
The surname STOUFFER is of German origin, originating in the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Stuffe," which means "step" or "stair." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a flight of stairs or who worked as a stair builder.
In its earliest recorded forms, the surname appeared as "Stuffer," "Stufffer," and "Stueffer" in various German regions, including Bavaria and the Rhineland. It is believed to have originated as a descriptive nickname or occupational name.
One of the earliest known references to the STOUFFER surname can be found in the 1568 church records of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, a town in Bavaria, where a man named Hans Stuffer was mentioned.
Another early record of the name dates back to 1599, when a certain Mathis Stueffer was listed in the tax records of the city of Worms, located in the Rhineland region of Germany.
In the 17th century, the STOUFFER surname began to appear in various parts of Pennsylvania, as German immigrants settled in the region. One of the earliest known STOUFFER families in Pennsylvania was that of Hans Stoffar, who arrived in 1683 and settled in what is now Montgomery County.
Notable individuals with the STOUFFER surname include Abraham Stouffer (1738-1817), a German-American farmer and Revolutionary War soldier from Pennsylvania, and John Stouffer (1829-1903), a prominent businessman and politician from Ohio who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives.
In the 19th century, the STOUFFER name gained prominence in the hospitality industry with the establishment of the Stouffer's restaurant and food service company by Abraham and James Stouffer in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1922. The company, known for its frozen prepared foods and restaurant chains, was later acquired by Nestlé in the 1970s.
Other notable individuals with the STOUFFER surname include James M. Stouffer (1892-1961), an American businessman and co-founder of the Stouffer's company, and Alfred G. Stouffer (1900-1974), a businessman and philanthropist who served as the president of Stouffer's from 1948 to 1965.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stouffer
Among Census respondents with the surname Stouffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Stouffer 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 Stouffer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 3,136
- Two or more races3.0% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 67
- Black or African American0.7% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stouffer
Stouffer 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
#9,150
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,565
+26 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Down 583 places
2020
#9,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,355
-210 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Down 157 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,567 | 3,539 | 1.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,150 | 3,565 | 1.21 | +26 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 583 places |
| 2020 | #9,307 | 3,355 | 1.12 | -210 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 157 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 Stouffer 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 | #9,150 | #9,307 | -1.7% |
| Count | 3,565 | 3,355 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.21 | 1.12 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stouffer bearers went from 3,565 to 3,355 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 157 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,150 to #9,307.
FAQ
Stouffer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stouffer?
Name Census estimates that about 3,847 living Americans carry the surname Stouffer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 89,097 residents.
How common is Stouffer?
Stouffer ranks #9,307 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.12 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,355 people with the surname Stouffer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,847), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.12 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Stouffer.
Has Stouffer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stouffer went from 3,565 recorded bearers to 3,355. That is a decrease of 210 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,150 to #9,307.
What does the Census say about the background of Stouffer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stouffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Stouffer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (3,136 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stouffer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Stouffer (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 Stouffer mean?
A German occupational surname for a baker or a stove maker. 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 Stouffer (1.12 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 share the surname Stouffer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.