2000
#42,289
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 483
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.18
Very Rare Last name
Stroebel
From Old German meaning "a stubborn or defiant person".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 573 Americans carry the last name Stroebel. That puts it at #45,998 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 598,175 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stroebel 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
573
1 in 598,175
Census rank
#45,998
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
500
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 500 bearers of the surname Stroebel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 45998th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stroebel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stroebel
The surname Stroebel originated in Germany and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old German word "stroub," which means "bristly" or "coarse." This name was likely given to someone with a bristly or unkempt appearance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Stroebel can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Lusatiae Superioris, a collection of historical documents from the region of Upper Lusatia in Germany, dating back to the 14th century. The name Stroebel is also mentioned in the Würzburger Lehnbücher, which are records of feudal land holdings in the Würzburg region, from the 15th century.
In the 16th century, the name Stroebel appeared in various town records and church registers across Germany. For instance, Hans Stroebel was a prominent citizen of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a town in Bavaria, in the late 1500s.
The name Stroebel has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Johann Stroebel, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1520 to 1588. Another was Carl Stroebel, a German military officer and author who served in the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars (1770-1826).
In the 19th century, Adolph Stroebel (1828-1892) was a German-American artist and educator who taught at the San Francisco Art Institute. Gustave Stroebel (1864-1928) was a German-American architect known for his work in New York City.
More recently, Dieter Stroebel (1933-2017) was a German footballer who played for several Bundesliga clubs in the 1950s and 1960s. And Manfred Stroebel (born 1942) is a German politician who served as a member of the Bundestag from 1990 to 2009.
Overall, the surname Stroebel has a long and rich history, originating in Germany and spanning several centuries. While it may have started as a descriptive name related to appearance, it has been carried by many notable individuals in various fields throughout the years.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stroebel
Among Census respondents with the surname Stroebel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Stroebel 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 Stroebel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 461
- Two or more races4.2% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 4
- Black or African American0.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stroebel
Stroebel 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
#42,640
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 508
+25 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Down 351 places
2020
#45,998
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 500
-8 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Down 3,358 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #42,289 | 483 | 0.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #42,640 | 508 | 0.17 | +25 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 351 places |
| 2020 | #45,998 | 500 | 0.17 | -8 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 3,358 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 Stroebel 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 | #42,640 | #45,998 | -7.9% |
| Count | 508 | 500 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.17 | 0.17 | -1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stroebel bearers went from 508 to 500 (-1.6% change). The surname moved down 3,358 positions in the national ranking, going from #42,640 to #45,998.
FAQ
Stroebel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stroebel?
Name Census estimates that about 573 living Americans carry the surname Stroebel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 598,175 residents.
How common is Stroebel?
Stroebel ranks #45,998 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.17 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 500 people with the surname Stroebel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (573), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.17 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 Stroebel.
Has Stroebel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stroebel went from 508 recorded bearers to 500. That is a decrease of 8 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #42,640 to #45,998.
What does the Census say about the background of Stroebel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stroebel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Stroebel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (461 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stroebel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Stroebel (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 Stroebel mean?
From Old German meaning "a stubborn or defiant person". 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 Stroebel (0.17 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 Stroebel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.