Stubbs last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Stubbs is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Stubbs.

Meaning of Stubbs

A nickname-derived surname referring to a person with a short or stubby appearance, particularly their legs or feet.

Stubbs, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Stubbs surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Stubbs in America

Stubbs is the 1781st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Stubbs surname appeared 20,134 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Stubbs.

We can also compare 2010 data for Stubbs to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 1781 1722 3.37%
Count 20,134 19,068 5.44%
Proportion per 100k 6.83 7.07 -3.45%

The history of the last name Stubbs

The surname Stubbs is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "stubb" which means a tree stump or the remaining part of a felled tree. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a prominent tree stump or wooded area.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are records of places called "Estubbes" and "Westubbes" in various parts of England, suggesting the name was derived from a place name. The earliest recorded spelling of the surname is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1199, where one Robert Stubbe is mentioned.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir John Stubbs, a 16th-century English writer and pamphleteer who was born in 1543 and died in 1591. He is known for his work "The Discovery of a Gaping Gulf" which criticized the proposed marriage of Queen Elizabeth I to the Duke of Anjou.

Another notable person with this surname was George Stubbs, the famous 18th-century English painter who specialized in animal paintings. He was born in 1724 and died in 1806. His paintings of horses and other animals were highly regarded for their anatomical accuracy and attention to detail.

In the 19th century, William Stubbs, an English historian and bishop, was a prominent figure. Born in 1825, he is best known for his work "Constitutional History of England" which was a seminal study of the development of English law and government.

The name Stubbs has also been associated with places like Stubbs Green in Oxfordshire, Stubbs Walden in Essex, and Stubbs Lane in various parts of England. These place names likely originated from the surname itself or from the Old English word "stubb" referring to a wooded area or clearing.

Other notable individuals with the surname Stubbs include Walter Stubbs, an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in the late 19th century, and Harry Stubbs, a British soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross during World War I.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Stubbs

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Stubbs.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Stubbs was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 63.97% 12,880
Non-Hispanic Black Only 29.60% 5,960
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.42% 85
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.58% 117
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.14% 431
Hispanic Origin 3.29% 662

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Stubbs has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 63.97% 67.52% -5.40%
Black 29.60% 28.05% 5.38%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.42% 0.34% 21.05%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.58% 0.52% 10.91%
Two or More Races 2.14% 1.59% 29.49%
Hispanic 3.29% 1.98% 49.72%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Stubbs was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Stubbs, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Stubbs last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 15, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/stubbs-surname-popularity/.

"Stubbs last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/stubbs-surname-popularity/. Accessed 15 October, 2024

Stubbs last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/stubbs-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.