2000
#5,359
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,978
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.22
Rare Last name
Strobel
Derived from a German nickname meaning "whirlpool" or "turbulent river," likely referring to someone living near turbulent water.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,371 Americans carry the last name Strobel. That puts it at #5,966 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 53,799 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Strobel 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
6.4K
1 in 53,799
Census rank
#5,966
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,556 bearers of the surname Strobel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5966th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Strobel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Strobel
The surname Strobel originates from Germany, where it first appeared in the 13th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "strobe," meaning a bundle or sheaf of grain. This suggests that the name may have been an occupational name for someone who worked with grains or crops.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various German historical records and manuscripts from the Middle Ages. For example, the name Strobel appears in the tax records of the city of Nuremberg in the year 1347.
In the 16th century, the surname Strobel was particularly prominent in the region of Bavaria, where it was associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Hans Strobel, a farmer and landowner who lived in the village of Altötting in the late 15th century.
Another notable figure with the surname Strobel was Johann Strobel, a Lutheran theologian and scholar who lived in the city of Nuremberg from 1516 to 1594. He was known for his writings on religious doctrine and his contributions to the Protestant Reformation.
In the 17th century, the name Strobel spread to other parts of Germany and neighboring regions. One prominent bearer of the name during this time was Valentin Strobel, a German artist and engraver who was born in Nuremberg in 1629 and died in Vienna in 1696.
As the name Strobel continued to spread throughout Germany and Europe, it also gave rise to various place names and local variations in spelling. For example, the village of Strobelbach in Bavaria is believed to have been named after an early bearer of the Strobel surname.
Other notable individuals with the surname Strobel include August Strobel, a German historian and archaeologist who lived from 1857 to 1909, and Wilhelm Strobel, a German military officer who served in World War II and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in 1944.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Strobel
Among Census respondents with the surname Strobel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Strobel 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 Strobel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 5,161
- Two or more races3.0% · 169
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 157
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 17
- Black or African American0.2% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Strobel
Strobel 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
#5,685
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,097
+119 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 2.07
Rank movement Down 326 places
2020
#5,966
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,556
-541 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 1.86
Rank movement Down 281 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,359 | 5,978 | 2.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,685 | 6,097 | 2.07 | +119 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 326 places |
| 2020 | #5,966 | 5,556 | 1.86 | -541 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 281 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 Strobel 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 | #5,685 | #5,966 | -4.9% |
| Count | 6,097 | 5,556 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.07 | 1.86 | -10.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Strobel bearers went from 6,097 to 5,556 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 281 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,685 to #5,966.
FAQ
Strobel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Strobel?
Name Census estimates that about 6,371 living Americans carry the surname Strobel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 53,799 residents.
How common is Strobel?
Strobel ranks #5,966 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.86 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,556 people with the surname Strobel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,371), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.86 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Strobel.
Has Strobel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Strobel went from 6,097 recorded bearers to 5,556. That is a decrease of 541 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,685 to #5,966.
What does the Census say about the background of Strobel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Strobel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (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 Strobel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (5,161 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Strobel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (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 Strobel (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 Strobel mean?
Derived from a German nickname meaning "whirlpool" or "turbulent river," likely referring to someone living near turbulent water. 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 Strobel (1.86 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 Strobel?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Strobel? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.