2000
#10,904
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,679
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Stabler
An occupational surname for a person who kept a stable or worked with horses.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,102 Americans carry the last name Stabler. That puts it at #11,183 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 110,495 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stabler 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Stabler with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 110,495
Census rank
#11,183
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,705 bearers of the surname Stabler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11183rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stabler, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stabler
The surname Stabler has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 13th century. It is derived from the German word "Stab," which means "staff" or "rod," and likely referred to a person who carried a staff or rod as part of their profession or trade.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town of Stader, located in the Lower Saxony region of Germany, where a family bearing the name Stabler is mentioned in historical records dating back to the 14th century. Over time, the name spread to other parts of Germany and eventually to other countries as well.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Stabler surname appeared in various German records and manuscripts, including church records and tax rolls. One notable individual from this period was Johann Stabler (1542-1608), a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
As the name migrated beyond Germany, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Staebler, Staebler, and Stahler. In England, for instance, the name was sometimes anglicized to Stabler or Stapler, and it is believed that some families with this surname may have originated from German immigrants who settled in England during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Among the notable individuals with the surname Stabler throughout history are:
1. Wilhelm Stabler (1876-1958), a German artist and painter known for his landscape and genre paintings.
2. Edward Stabler (1794-1853), an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary in Alexandria, Virginia.
3. Gottlieb Stabler (1780-1848), a German-American silversmith and jeweler who established a successful business in Baltimore, Maryland.
4. Johann Heinrich Stabler (1738-1817), a German-born American clockmaker and silversmith who worked in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
5. Henry Stabler (1836-1914), an American businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, from 1890 to 1892.
While the Stabler surname has its roots in Germany, it has since been adopted and carried on by families in various parts of the world, reflecting the migration patterns and cultural exchanges that have shaped our global society over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stabler
Among Census respondents with the surname Stabler, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Stabler 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 Stabler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.0% · 2,111
- Black or African American10.6% · 287
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.4% · 120
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 102
- Two or more races2.8% · 77
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stabler
Stabler 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
#10,950
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,908
+229 bearers (+8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 46 places
2020
#11,183
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,705
-203 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 233 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,904 | 2,679 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,950 | 2,908 | 0.99 | +229 bearers (+8.5%) | Down 46 places |
| 2020 | #11,183 | 2,705 | 0.90 | -203 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 233 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 Stabler 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 | #10,950 | #11,183 | -2.1% |
| Count | 2,908 | 2,705 | -7.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.90 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stabler bearers went from 2,908 to 2,705 (-7.0% change). The surname moved down 233 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,950 to #11,183.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Stabler
FAQ
Stabler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stabler?
Name Census estimates that about 3,102 living Americans carry the surname Stabler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 110,495 residents.
How common is Stabler?
Stabler ranks #11,183 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,705 people with the surname Stabler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,102), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Stabler.
Has Stabler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stabler went from 2,908 recorded bearers to 2,705. That is a decrease of 203 (-7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,950 to #11,183.
What does the Census say about the background of Stabler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stabler, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.4%). 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 Stabler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.0% (2,111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stabler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.0%), Black (10.6%), American Indian/Alaska Native (4.4%). 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 Stabler (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 Stabler mean?
An occupational surname for a person who kept a stable or worked with horses. 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 Stabler (0.90 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 Stabler?
Find out how many people have the surname Stabler on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.