2000
#883
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 35,701
First available Census row
Per 100,000 13.23
Uncommon Last name
Stuart
A royal house of Scotland and England, derived from the Old English term for "household guardian" or "steward."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 39,601 Americans carry the last name Stuart. That puts it at #993 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,655 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stuart 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 Stuart with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
40K
1 in 8,655
Census rank
#993
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
35K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 34,534 bearers of the surname Stuart in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 993rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stuart, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.4%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stuart
The surname Stuart has its origins in Scotland, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the old Scottish word "stuard," which means steward or guardian. This word itself is rooted in the Old English "stig-weard," meaning a household guardian or keeper of the hall.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the 12th century, when Walter Fitzalan, a Norman nobleman, was appointed as the High Steward of Scotland by King David I. This position later became a hereditary title, and Fitzalan's descendants adopted the surname "Stewart" or "Stuart" to reflect their role.
The Stuart family played a significant role in Scottish history, eventually ascending to the throne of Scotland in 1371 with the coronation of Robert II, the first Stuart monarch. The family's influence extended to England when James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne in 1603, becoming James I of England and establishing the House of Stuart as the ruling dynasty for much of the 17th century.
Notable figures bearing the Stuart surname include Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587), who ruled Scotland from 1542 to 1567 and was eventually executed by her cousin, Elizabeth I of England. Another prominent figure was Charles I (1600-1649), whose conflicts with Parliament led to the English Civil War and his eventual execution.
Other historical figures with the Stuart surname include John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792), who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763, and James Stuart (1713-1788), a renowned Scottish architect and one of the leading proponents of the Neoclassical style in Britain.
The name also has connections to place names, such as Stuart Island in Washington State, named after Sir Moses Stuart, a British naval officer in the 18th century. Older spellings of the name include "Steuart," "Stewart," and "Stywart," reflecting the various regional pronunciations and interpretations of the original Scottish word.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stuart
Among Census respondents with the surname Stuart, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.4%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Stuart 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 Stuart surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.9% · 27,945
- Black or African American9.4% · 3,258
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 1,589
- Two or more races3.7% · 1,275
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 291
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 176
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stuart
Stuart 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
#951
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 36,540
+839 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 12.39
Rank movement Down 68 places
2020
#993
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,534
-2,006 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 11.55
Rank movement Down 42 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #883 | 35,701 | 13.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #951 | 36,540 | 12.39 | +839 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 68 places |
| 2020 | #993 | 34,534 | 11.55 | -2,006 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 42 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 Stuart 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 | #951 | #993 | -4.4% |
| Count | 36,540 | 34,534 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 12.39 | 11.55 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stuart bearers went from 36,540 to 34,534 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 42 positions in the national ranking, going from #951 to #993.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Stuart
FAQ
Stuart surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stuart?
Name Census estimates that about 39,601 living Americans carry the surname Stuart. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,655 residents.
How common is Stuart?
Stuart ranks #993 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 12 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 34,534 people with the surname Stuart. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (39,601), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 12 of them to have the surname Stuart.
Has Stuart become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stuart went from 36,540 recorded bearers to 34,534. That is a decrease of 2,006 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #951 to #993.
What does the Census say about the background of Stuart?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stuart, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Black (9.4%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Stuart in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (27,945 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stuart appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.9%), Black (9.4%), Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Stuart (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 Stuart mean?
A royal house of Scotland and England, derived from the Old English term for "household guardian" or "steward." 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 Stuart (11.55 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 Stuart?
If you just want to know how many people are called Stuart, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.