2000
#3,728
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,733
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.24
Rare Last name
Stubblefield
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a field of stubble or harvested grain stalks.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,778 Americans carry the last name Stubblefield. That puts it at #4,044 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,054 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stubblefield 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
9.8K
1 in 35,054
Census rank
#4,044
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,527 bearers of the surname Stubblefield in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4044th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stubblefield, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stubblefield
The surname Stubblefield originates from England and dates back to the late medieval period. It is a locational surname derived from the Old English words "stubbl" meaning a stubble field and "feld" meaning an open area of land. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was Stubfelde in 1327 in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire.
The name was initially adopted by families who lived near or worked on stubble fields. As surnames became hereditary, it passed down through generations. Variations in spelling emerged over time, including Stubbefield, Stublefield, and Stubblefeild.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England, there are several entries for places with names containing the element "stubble," indicating that the name could have originated from various locations across the country.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John Stubblefield, who was mentioned in the Patent Rolls of 1397 in Warwickshire. Another early record is of Thomas Stubblefeld, who appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1524.
Notable individuals with the surname include:
1. Sir William Stubblefield (c.1555-1630), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Derbyshire in the early 17th century.
2. Reverend Benjamin Stubblefield (1675-1759), an English clergyman and author of religious works.
3. Sarah Stubblefield (1802-1887), an American pioneer and one of the first settlers in the Oregon Territory.
4. Nathaniel Stubblefield (1860-1928), an American inventor and entrepreneur, best known for his work on wireless communication technology.
5. Levi Stubblefield (1866-1945), an American businessman and philanthropist, who founded the Stubblefield Institute, a vocational school for African Americans in Kentucky.
The surname Stubblefield has been present throughout English history, with roots tracing back to the Middle Ages. Its locational origin and connection to agricultural lands have made it a distinctive part of English genealogy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stubblefield
Among Census respondents with the surname Stubblefield, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Stubblefield 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 Stubblefield surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.6% · 5,939
- Black or African American20.9% · 1,780
- Two or more races4.5% · 384
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 306
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 50
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stubblefield
Stubblefield 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
#4,002
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,878
+145 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 3.01
Rank movement Down 274 places
2020
#4,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,527
-351 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 2.85
Rank movement Down 42 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,728 | 8,733 | 3.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,002 | 8,878 | 3.01 | +145 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 274 places |
| 2020 | #4,044 | 8,527 | 2.85 | -351 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 42 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 Stubblefield 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 | #4,002 | #4,044 | -1.0% |
| Count | 8,878 | 8,527 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 3.01 | 2.85 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stubblefield bearers went from 8,878 to 8,527 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 42 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,002 to #4,044.
FAQ
Stubblefield surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stubblefield?
Name Census estimates that about 9,778 living Americans carry the surname Stubblefield. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,054 residents.
How common is Stubblefield?
Stubblefield ranks #4,044 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.85 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 8,527 people with the surname Stubblefield. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,778), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.85 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 Stubblefield.
Has Stubblefield become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stubblefield went from 8,878 recorded bearers to 8,527. That is a decrease of 351 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,002 to #4,044.
What does the Census say about the background of Stubblefield?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stubblefield, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Stubblefield in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.6% (5,939 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stubblefield appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.6%), Black (20.9%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Stubblefield (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 Stubblefield mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a field of stubble or harvested grain stalks. 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 Stubblefield (2.85 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 Stubblefield?
You can see how common the surname Stubblefield is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.