2000
#3,620
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,017
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.34
Uncommon Last name
Sturm
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word "sturm," meaning "storm" or "tempest."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,096 Americans carry the last name Sturm. That puts it at #3,913 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 33,950 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sturm 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
10K
1 in 33,950
Census rank
#3,913
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.8K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,804 bearers of the surname Sturm in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3913th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sturm, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sturm
The surname STURM originated in Germany and has a long history dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old High German word "sturm," meaning "storm" or "tempest." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone with a fierce or stormy temperament.
The earliest recorded instances of the STURM surname can be found in various medieval documents from the 12th and 13th centuries in regions such as Bavaria and Saxony. One notable reference is in the Codex Diplomaticus Monasterii Sancti Rudberti Salisburgensis, a collection of charters and records from the Benedictine monastery of St. Rupert in Salzburg, Austria, which mentions a "Chunradus Sturm" in the year 1187.
During the 13th century, the name appears in various place names across Germany, such as Sturmfeld (literally "storm field") and Sturmthal (meaning "storm valley"), indicating that some STURM families may have taken their names from the locations where they lived or owned land.
One of the earliest known bearers of the STURM surname was Jakob Sturm (1489-1553), a German statesman and reformer from Strasbourg. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation and was a close associate of Martin Luther.
Another notable figure was Johann Christoph Sturm (1635-1703), a German educator and philosopher who founded the Gymnasium Illustre in Altdorf, a renowned educational institution in its time.
In the 18th century, Johann Sturm (1742-1786) was a German poet and dramatist from Saxony, known for his poetry collection "Gedichte" and his work as a librarian at the University of Leipzig.
Jacques Charles François Sturm (1803-1855) was a French mathematician and educator who made significant contributions to the field of numerical analysis and is best known for the Sturm's theorem, which provides a method for counting the real roots of a polynomial.
During the 19th century, Ferdinand Sturm (1835-1923) was a German architect who designed notable buildings in Berlin, including the Reichspatentamt (Imperial Patent Office) and the Neues Rathaus (New City Hall).
Throughout its history, the STURM surname has been prominent in various fields, including politics, education, literature, mathematics, and architecture, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of those who have borne this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sturm
Among Census respondents with the surname Sturm, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Sturm 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 Sturm surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 8,166
- Two or more races3.1% · 271
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 236
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 55
- Black or African American0.5% · 45
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sturm
Sturm 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
#3,832
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,242
+225 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 3.13
Rank movement Down 212 places
2020
#3,913
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,804
-438 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 2.95
Rank movement Down 81 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,620 | 9,017 | 3.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,832 | 9,242 | 3.13 | +225 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 212 places |
| 2020 | #3,913 | 8,804 | 2.95 | -438 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 81 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 Sturm 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 | #3,832 | #3,913 | -2.1% |
| Count | 9,242 | 8,804 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 3.13 | 2.95 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sturm bearers went from 9,242 to 8,804 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 81 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,832 to #3,913.
FAQ
Sturm surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sturm?
Name Census estimates that about 10,096 living Americans carry the surname Sturm. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 33,950 residents.
How common is Sturm?
Sturm ranks #3,913 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.95 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,804 people with the surname Sturm. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,096), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.95 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Sturm.
Has Sturm become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sturm went from 9,242 recorded bearers to 8,804. That is a decrease of 438 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,832 to #3,913.
What does the Census say about the background of Sturm?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sturm, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Sturm in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (8,166 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sturm appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Sturm (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 Sturm mean?
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word "sturm," meaning "storm" or "tempest." 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 Sturm (2.95 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 have the last name Sturm?
See how many people have the surname Sturm on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.