2000
#6,963
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,439
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.65
Rare Last name
Stroh
A German occupational surname referring to a person who thatches roofs with straw.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,407 Americans carry the last name Stroh. That puts it at #6,869 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 63,391 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stroh 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
5.4K
1 in 63,391
Census rank
#6,869
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,715 bearers of the surname Stroh in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6869th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stroh, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stroh
The surname STROH is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "strō," meaning "straw" or "thatch." It is believed to have originated as an occupational name for someone who worked with straw, such as a thatcher or a straw seller.
The earliest recorded instances of the STROH surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. One of the earliest documented references to the name is found in the records of the city of Nuremberg, where a certain Cunrat Strō was mentioned in 1289.
During the medieval period, the STROH surname was sometimes spelled differently, reflecting regional variations in language and dialects. Some of these historical spellings include Stro, Strau, and Stroe.
In the 14th century, the STROH name appeared in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony. This record mentions a "Johannes Stroh" who lived in the village of Großenhain.
One notable bearer of the STROH surname was Johann Stroh (1531-1592), a German theologian and Reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in the Duchy of Württemberg.
Another historical figure with the STROH name was Theodor Stroh (1818-1888), a German-born American brewer who founded the Theo. Stroh Brewery Company in Detroit, Michigan, in 1850. This brewery later became one of the largest breweries in the United States.
In the 19th century, the STROH surname was also found in the records of the town of Büdingen, in the German state of Hesse. One notable individual from this area was Karl Stroh (1822-1898), a German immigrant to the United States who became a prominent businessman and philanthropist in Philadelphia.
Other notable individuals with the STROH surname include Max Stroh (1858-1942), a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in Chicago, and Ernst Stroh (1922-2005), a German physicist and engineer who made significant contributions to the development of radar technology during World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stroh
Among Census respondents with the surname Stroh, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Stroh 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 Stroh surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 4,307
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 177
- Two or more races3.3% · 156
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 55
- Black or African American0.3% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stroh
Stroh 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
#7,012
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,777
+338 bearers (+7.6%)
Per 100,000 1.62
Rank movement Down 49 places
2020
#6,869
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,715
-62 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 1.58
Rank movement Up 143 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,963 | 4,439 | 1.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,012 | 4,777 | 1.62 | +338 bearers (+7.6%) | Down 49 places |
| 2020 | #6,869 | 4,715 | 1.58 | -62 bearers (-1.3%) | Up 143 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 Stroh 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 | #7,012 | #6,869 | 2.0% |
| Count | 4,777 | 4,715 | -1.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.62 | 1.58 | -2.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stroh bearers went from 4,777 to 4,715 (-1.3% change). The surname moved up 143 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,012 to #6,869.
FAQ
Stroh surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stroh?
Name Census estimates that about 5,407 living Americans carry the surname Stroh. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 63,391 residents.
How common is Stroh?
Stroh ranks #6,869 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.58 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 4,715 people with the surname Stroh. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,407), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.58 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 Stroh.
Has Stroh become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stroh went from 4,777 recorded bearers to 4,715. That is a decrease of 62 (-1.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,012 to #6,869.
What does the Census say about the background of Stroh?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stroh, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Stroh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (4,307 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stroh appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Stroh (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 Stroh mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who thatches roofs with straw. 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 Stroh (1.58 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 Stroh?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.