2000
#2,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,663
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.81
Uncommon Last name
Stjohn
An English habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a church dedicated to St. John.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,552 Americans carry the last name Stjohn. That puts it at #2,325 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,528 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stjohn 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 Stjohn with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 19,528
Census rank
#2,325
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,306 bearers of the surname Stjohn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2325th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stjohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.6%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stjohn
The surname STJOHN originated in England and dates back to the 12th century. It derives from the Norman-French name "St. John," referring to someone who lived near a church or monastery dedicated to St. John the Baptist or St. John the Evangelist.
The name is found in various early records, including the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "de Sancto Johanne." This suggests that some of the earliest bearers were Norman landowners who settled in England after the Conquest of 1066.
As the name spread throughout England, it took on various spellings like Sinjohn, Sinjun, and Singjon. Some early examples include Robert de Sancto Johanne, who held lands in Lincolnshire in 1199, and William de Seint Johan, a landowner in Somerset in 1243.
Notable individuals with the surname STJOHN include Sir Oliver St. John (c. 1598-1673), a prominent English politician and lawyer who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland, and James Augustus St. John (1801-1875), an American writer and traveler known for his works on Egypt and the Middle East.
Other historical figures include Henry St. John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (1678-1751), an influential English philosopher and political leader, and Sir James St. John (c. 1571-1637), a British military officer who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland.
The surname is also associated with several place names, such as St. John's Wood in London, which derives from the Knights of the Order of St. John who owned land there in the 12th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stjohn
Among Census respondents with the surname Stjohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.6%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Stjohn 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 Stjohn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.8% · 12,674
- Black or African American5.6% · 859
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 688
- Two or more races4.1% · 625
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 317
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 143
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stjohn
Stjohn 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
#2,303
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,843
+180 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 5.37
Rank movement Down 180 places
2020
#2,325
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,306
-537 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 5.12
Rank movement Down 22 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,123 | 15,663 | 5.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,303 | 15,843 | 5.37 | +180 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 180 places |
| 2020 | #2,325 | 15,306 | 5.12 | -537 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 22 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 Stjohn 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 | #2,303 | #2,325 | -1.0% |
| Count | 15,843 | 15,306 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 5.37 | 5.12 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stjohn bearers went from 15,843 to 15,306 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 22 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,303 to #2,325.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Stjohn
FAQ
Stjohn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stjohn?
Name Census estimates that about 17,552 living Americans carry the surname Stjohn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,528 residents.
How common is Stjohn?
Stjohn ranks #2,325 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.12 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,306 people with the surname Stjohn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,552), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.12 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Stjohn.
Has Stjohn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stjohn went from 15,843 recorded bearers to 15,306. That is a decrease of 537 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,303 to #2,325.
What does the Census say about the background of Stjohn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stjohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.6%) and Hispanic (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 Stjohn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.8% (12,674 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stjohn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.8%), Black (5.6%), Hispanic (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 Stjohn (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 Stjohn mean?
An English habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a church dedicated to St. John. 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 Stjohn (5.12 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 share the surname Stjohn?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.