2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Stoye
A Frisian surname derived from the German word "stoye" meaning stove.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Stoye. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stoye 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Stoye in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stoye, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Black (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stoye
The surname Stoye has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "stove," which means a small room or chamber. The name may have been an occupational name given to someone who worked in a small room or lived in a small dwelling.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Stoye can be found in various historical records from the German states of Bavaria and Saxony. In the 15th century, a certain Hans Stoye was mentioned in the town records of Nuremberg, Bavaria. Another early record is from the 16th century, where a Wilhelm Stoye was listed as a resident of Dresden, Saxony.
One notable historical figure with the surname Stoye was Johann Stoye, a German theologian and reformer who lived from 1524 to 1578. He was a follower of Martin Luther and played a role in the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
The Stoye name has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Stoyerhof, a small village in Bavaria, and Stoyenburg, a town in Saxony-Anhalt. These place names may have influenced the spelling variations of the surname over time.
Another prominent individual with the Stoye surname was Friedrich Stoye, a German philosopher and writer who lived from 1646 to 1719. He wrote extensively on topics of ethics and morality and was influential in the intellectual circles of his time.
In the 18th century, a notable figure named Johann Gottfried Stoye lived from 1726 to 1798. He was a German physicist and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of optics and the theory of light.
Moving into the 19th century, Carl Stoye, born in 1833 and died in 1892, was a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities across Germany.
While the surname Stoye is not as common as some other German surnames, it has a rich history and has been carried by individuals who have made contributions in various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stoye
Among Census respondents with the surname Stoye, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Black (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Stoye 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 Stoye surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 8
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stoye
Stoye 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
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-9 bearers (-7.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,070 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+11 bearers (+10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,879 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.9%) | Down 19,070 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.5%) | Up 9,879 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 Stoye 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 | #154,907 | #145,028 | 6.4% |
| Count | 105 | 116 | 10.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stoye bearers went from 105 to 116 (+10.5% change). The surname moved up 9,879 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #145,028.
FAQ
Stoye surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stoye?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Stoye. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Stoye?
Stoye ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Stoye. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Stoye.
Has Stoye become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stoye went from 105 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 11 (+10.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Stoye?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stoye, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.9%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Stoye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stoye appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Hispanic (6.9%), Black (1.7%). 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 Stoye (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 Stoye mean?
A Frisian surname derived from the German word "stoye" meaning stove. 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 Stoye (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 many people have the surname Stoye?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.