2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Stoyan
A surname derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "stojan," meaning firm or steadfast.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Stoyan. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stoyan 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Stoyan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stoyan, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stoyan
The surname STOYAN has its origins in Bulgaria, tracing back to the 13th century or earlier. It is derived from the Old Bulgarian personal name Stoyan, which in turn is derived from the word "stoyu" meaning "to stand firm" or "to remain steadfast." This suggests the name may have been initially given to individuals who displayed qualities of strength, resilience, or unwavering character.
In the early medieval period, the name STOYAN was prevalent among the Bulgarian nobility and aristocracy. Several historical records from the Second Bulgarian Empire, such as chronicles and royal decrees, mention individuals bearing this surname. One notable example is Stoyan Batov, a military commander who served under Tsar Ivan Asen II in the late 13th century.
The STOYAN surname can also be traced back to various regions within modern-day Bulgaria, particularly in areas around the Balkan mountain range and the Rhodope Mountains. Some early records indicate the presence of families with this surname in the towns of Plovdiv and Stara Zagora, as well as in villages near the city of Veliko Tarnovo, which was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire.
In the 14th century, a document known as the "Vidin Inscription" mentions a certain Stoyan Dragovitsa, who was a prominent figure in the town of Vidin during the reign of Tsar Ivan Shishman. This historical record provides one of the earliest known instances of the STOYAN surname in written form.
Another notable figure from history bearing the STOYAN surname was Stoyan Zaimov (1853-1924), a Bulgarian writer, educator, and revolutionary. He played a significant role in the struggle for Bulgarian independence from the Ottoman Empire and was a prominent figure in the establishment of modern Bulgarian education and literature.
Other individuals of note with the STOYAN surname include Stoyan Michailovski (1856-1927), a Bulgarian writer and journalist who contributed to the development of modern Bulgarian literature, and Stoyan Danev (1858-1949), a Bulgarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 1901 to 1903.
While the surname STOYAN originated in Bulgaria, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to emigration and diaspora communities. However, its roots and earliest recorded instances can be traced back to the medieval history of the Bulgarian lands and the cultural heritage of the Bulgarian people.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stoyan
Among Census respondents with the surname Stoyan, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Stoyan 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 Stoyan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.9% · 7
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stoyan
Stoyan appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 1,289 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 1,289 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 Stoyan 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 | #156,044 | #154,755 | 0.8% |
| Count | 104 | 102 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stoyan bearers went from 104 to 102 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 1,289 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #154,755.
FAQ
Stoyan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stoyan?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Stoyan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Stoyan?
Stoyan ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Stoyan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Stoyan.
Has Stoyan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stoyan went from 104 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Stoyan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stoyan, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Stoyan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stoyan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%), Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Stoyan (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 Stoyan mean?
A surname derived from the Old Church Slavonic word "stojan," meaning firm or steadfast. 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 Stoyan (0.03 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 Stoyan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.