2000
#3,447
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,482
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.51
Uncommon Last name
Straub
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with brushwood or shrubbery.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,621 Americans carry the last name Straub. That puts it at #3,730 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 32,271 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Straub 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 Straub with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 32,271
Census rank
#3,730
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.3K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,262 bearers of the surname Straub in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3730th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Straub, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Straub
The surname Straub has its origins in Germany, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the Germanic word "straub," which means "bush" or "shrub." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone who lived near a dense thicket or shrubbery.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Straub can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the Holy Roman Empire, dating back to the 13th century. In these records, the name appears as "Straubius" and is often associated with individuals from the regions of Bavaria and Swabia.
During the 14th century, the name Straub emerged in various forms, including "Strob," "Strube," and "Straubel," reflecting regional variations in spelling and pronunciation. In the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, located in the modern-day state of Bavaria, a record from 1381 mentions a certain Konrad Straub, a merchant and landowner.
In the 16th century, the name Straub gained prominence in the city of Nuremberg, where a family of printers and publishers bearing this surname flourished. Johann Straub (1512-1581), a renowned printer and bookseller, established a successful printing press that produced numerous works, including religious texts and scholarly publications.
Another notable figure with the surname Straub was Johann Baptist Straub (1704-1784), a German Baroque architect and sculptor from Grünenbach, Bavaria. He is best known for his work on various churches and abbeys in southern Germany, including the Benedictine Abbey of Ottobeuren.
In the 19th century, the name Straub was associated with several prominent individuals, such as Johann Straub (1812-1888), a German-American painter and lithographer who immigrated to the United States and became known for his landscapes and portraits depicting life in the American West.
Other notable figures include Carl Straub (1826-1899), a German Protestant theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Berlin, and Johann Straub (1868-1944), an influential German educator and reformer who advocated for progressive teaching methods and the inclusion of physical education in school curricula.
Throughout its history, the surname Straub has been documented in various regions of Germany, as well as in neighboring countries like Austria and Switzerland, where German-speaking communities have existed for centuries. The name has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Straub
Among Census respondents with the surname Straub, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Straub 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 Straub surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 8,549
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 266
- Two or more races2.8% · 256
- Black or African American1.0% · 91
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 63
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 37
Timeline
Historical Census data for Straub
Straub 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
#3,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,624
+142 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 3.26
Rank movement Down 244 places
2020
#3,730
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,262
-362 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 3.10
Rank movement Down 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,447 | 9,482 | 3.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,691 | 9,624 | 3.26 | +142 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 244 places |
| 2020 | #3,730 | 9,262 | 3.10 | -362 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 39 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 Straub 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 | #3,691 | #3,730 | -1.1% |
| Count | 9,624 | 9,262 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 3.26 | 3.10 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Straub bearers went from 9,624 to 9,262 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,691 to #3,730.
FAQ
Straub surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Straub?
Name Census estimates that about 10,621 living Americans carry the surname Straub. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 32,271 residents.
How common is Straub?
Straub ranks #3,730 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,262 people with the surname Straub. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,621), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Straub.
Has Straub become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Straub went from 9,624 recorded bearers to 9,262. That is a decrease of 362 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,691 to #3,730.
What does the Census say about the background of Straub?
Among Census respondents with the surname Straub, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Straub in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (8,549 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Straub appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Straub (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 Straub mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with brushwood or shrubbery. 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 Straub (3.10 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 are called Straub?
If you just want to know how many people are called Straub, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.