2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Stuffel
A German surname derived from "Stuffel," a diminutive form of "Stufe" meaning step or stair.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Stuffel. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stuffel 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Stuffel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stuffel, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stuffel
The surname Stuffel is believed to have originated in the German-speaking regions of Europe, likely in the late medieval or early modern period. It may have derived from the Old German word "stuf," meaning a heap or pile, or from a place name containing a similar root.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Stuffel can be found in the Codex Traditionum Ecclesiae Ratisbonensis, a 12th-century manuscript from the Regensburg region of Bavaria, which mentions a certain "Henricus Stuffel" as a landowner. This suggests that the name was already established in that area by the High Middle Ages.
In the 14th century, there are records of a Lienhart Stuffel, a merchant from the city of Nuremberg, whose name appears in the city's tax rolls. This indicates that the Stuffel family had become prosperous and influential in urban centers by that time.
During the Renaissance, a notable figure bearing the Stuffel name was Hans Stuffel, a German painter and engraver active in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Some of his works can still be found in museums and private collections across Europe.
In the 17th century, the name Stuffel appears to have spread to other regions, possibly due to migration or marriage alliances. One example is Johann Christoph Stuffel, a scholar and theologian born in Saxony in 1655, who later became a professor at the University of Jena.
Another significant individual with the surname Stuffel was Friedrich Stuffel, a German military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Born in 1779 in Hesse, he rose to the rank of general and played a crucial role in several battles against the French armies.
As the name Stuffel spread across different regions and time periods, it likely underwent various spelling variations, such as Stuffell, Stufell, or Stuffel, reflecting local dialects and scribal practices. However, the core of the name and its potential origins in Old German or place names seem to have remained consistent throughout its history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stuffel
Among Census respondents with the surname Stuffel, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Stuffel 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 Stuffel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.8% · 114
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stuffel
Stuffel 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+6 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,300 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+12 bearers (+11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,840 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 3,300 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.2%) | Up 9,840 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 Stuffel 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 | #152,628 | #142,788 | 6.4% |
| Count | 107 | 119 | 11.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stuffel bearers went from 107 to 119 (+11.2% change). The surname moved up 9,840 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #142,788.
FAQ
Stuffel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stuffel?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Stuffel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Stuffel?
Stuffel ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 119 people with the surname Stuffel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Stuffel.
Has Stuffel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stuffel went from 107 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 12 (+11.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Stuffel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stuffel, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Stuffel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stuffel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.8%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Stuffel (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 Stuffel mean?
A German surname derived from "Stuffel," a diminutive form of "Stufe" meaning step or stair. 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 Stuffel (0.04 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 Stuffel?
If you just want to know how common the surname Stuffel is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.