2000
#730
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 42,669
First available Census row
Per 100,000 15.82
Uncommon Last name
Stout
A surname referring to a person who was powerful, brave, or stout in stature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 47,239 Americans carry the last name Stout. That puts it at #820 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,256 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stout 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 Stout with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
47K
1 in 7,256
Census rank
#820
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
41K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 41,195 bearers of the surname Stout in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 820th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stout, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stout
The surname Stout originated as an English nickname for a stout or hardy person. It derived from the Middle English and Old French words estout, meaning strong or brave. The name first appeared in the late 12th century and was originally spelled as Stut or le Stute.
The earliest known bearer of the name was William le Stute, who was recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1199. Another early instance was Roger Stout, mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Warwickshire in 1221.
In the 13th century, the surname Stout began appearing in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Staffordshire, and Essex. Some early examples include John le Stout in the Hundredorum Rolls of Yorkshire in 1273 and William Stout in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296.
The name Stout is also connected to several place names in England, such as Stout's Hill in Gloucestershire and Stout's Farm in Oxfordshire. These locations likely took their names from early residents with the surname Stout.
Notable historical figures bearing the surname Stout include Sir John Stout (c.1599-1662), an English parliamentarian and regicide who signed the death warrant of King Charles I. Another prominent bearer was Sir William Stout (1665-1752), a British naval officer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament.
Other significant individuals with the name Stout throughout history include:
1. Richard Stout (c.1616-1705), one of the earliest settlers of New Jersey and a founder of Middletown.
2. Hosea Stout (1810-1889), an American Mormon pioneer and bodyguard to Joseph Smith.
3. Rex Stout (1886-1975), an American writer best known for his detective fiction featuring Nero Wolfe.
4. George Stout (1897-1978), an American art conservator and pioneer in the field of art conservation.
5. Wilbur Stout (1884-1961), an American aviation pioneer and designer of the Stout Skycar and other innovative aircraft.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stout
Among Census respondents with the surname Stout, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Stout 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 Stout surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.4% · 36,416
- Two or more races4.1% · 1,690
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 1,517
- Black or African American2.3% · 938
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 323
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 311
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stout
Stout 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
#798
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,305
+636 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 14.68
Rank movement Down 68 places
2020
#820
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,195
-2,110 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 13.78
Rank movement Down 22 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #730 | 42,669 | 15.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #798 | 43,305 | 14.68 | +636 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 68 places |
| 2020 | #820 | 41,195 | 13.78 | -2,110 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 22 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 Stout 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 | #798 | #820 | -2.8% |
| Count | 43,305 | 41,195 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 14.68 | 13.78 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stout bearers went from 43,305 to 41,195 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 22 positions in the national ranking, going from #798 to #820.
FAQ
Stout surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stout?
Name Census estimates that about 47,239 living Americans carry the surname Stout. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,256 residents.
How common is Stout?
Stout ranks #820 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.78 per 100,000 residents, which is about 14 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 41,195 people with the surname Stout. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (47,239), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.78 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 14 of them to have the surname Stout.
Has Stout become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stout went from 43,305 recorded bearers to 41,195. That is a decrease of 2,110 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #798 to #820.
What does the Census say about the background of Stout?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stout, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Stout in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.4% (36,416 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stout appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.4%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Stout (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 Stout mean?
A surname referring to a person who was powerful, brave, or stout in stature. 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 Stout (13.78 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 Stout?
If you just want to know how common the surname Stout is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.