2000
#73,154
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 247
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.09
Very Rare Last name
Sternfeld
A locational surname referring to someone from a place called "Sternfeld", likely meaning "star field" in German.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 276 Americans carry the last name Sternfeld. That puts it at #83,936 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,241,864 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sternfeld 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
276
1 in 1,241,864
Census rank
#83,936
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
241
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 241 bearers of the surname Sternfeld in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 83936th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sternfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%) and Two or More Races (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sternfeld
The surname Sternfeld is of German origin, dating back to the late Middle Ages. It is derived from the German words "stern," meaning star, and "feld," meaning field or open land. This combination suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a field where stars were particularly visible at night.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sternfeld can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, Germany, from the year 1457. Here, a man named Hans Sternfeld is mentioned as a landowner and farmer. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the mid-15th century.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various historical documents across southern Germany and parts of what is now Austria. For example, a merchant named Jakob Sternfeld is recorded as a member of the guilds in Augsburg in 1523.
By the 17th century, the Sternfeld name had spread to other parts of Europe, likely due to migration and trade. In 1642, a Dutch artist named Cornelis Sternfeld was born in Amsterdam, though his family likely originated from Germany.
As the centuries passed, the Sternfeld name continued to be carried by notable individuals across various fields. In the 19th century, a German philosopher named Friedrich Sternfeld (1809-1878) wrote extensively on ethics and morality.
Another prominent figure was the Austrian-American engineer and inventor Emil Sternfeld (1884-1964), who is credited with developing the first successful air-conditioning system for vehicles and trains.
In more recent times, the name has been associated with individuals such as the German actor and director Michael Sternfeld (born 1955), and the American mathematician Naomi Sternfeld (born 1963), known for her contributions to number theory.
Overall, the surname Sternfeld has a rich history spanning several centuries and multiple countries, reflecting the diverse experiences and accomplishments of those who have carried this name throughout the ages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sternfeld
Among Census respondents with the surname Sternfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%) and Two or More Races (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Sternfeld 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 Sternfeld surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.2% · 239
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
- Two or more races0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sternfeld
Sternfeld 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
#71,265
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 274
+27 bearers (+10.9%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Up 1,889 places
2020
#83,936
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 241
-33 bearers (-12.0%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 12,671 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #73,154 | 247 | 0.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #71,265 | 274 | 0.09 | +27 bearers (+10.9%) | Up 1,889 places |
| 2020 | #83,936 | 241 | 0.08 | -33 bearers (-12.0%) | Down 12,671 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 Sternfeld 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 | #71,265 | #83,936 | -17.8% |
| Count | 274 | 241 | -12.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.08 | -10.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sternfeld bearers went from 274 to 241 (-12.0% change). The surname moved down 12,671 positions in the national ranking, going from #71,265 to #83,936.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sternfeld
FAQ
Sternfeld surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sternfeld?
Name Census estimates that about 276 living Americans carry the surname Sternfeld. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,241,864 residents.
How common is Sternfeld?
Sternfeld ranks #83,936 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 241 people with the surname Sternfeld. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (276), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Sternfeld.
Has Sternfeld become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sternfeld went from 274 recorded bearers to 241. That is a decrease of 33 (-12.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #71,265 to #83,936.
What does the Census say about the background of Sternfeld?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sternfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Sternfeld in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.2% (239 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sternfeld appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%), Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Sternfeld (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 Sternfeld mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from a place called "Sternfeld", likely meaning "star field" in German. 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 Sternfeld (0.08 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 are called Sternfeld?
See how common the surname Sternfeld is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.