Explore the Family Name Standingbear

The meaning of Standingbear

Native American (also Standing Bear): translation into English of a personal name such as Lakota and Dakota Sioux Mato Nažiŋ, composed of mato ‘bear’ and nažiŋ ‘to stand’, or the closely related Ponca name Machu Nazhi. See also Bear 3. History: Standing Bear was the English name of the Ponca chief Machu Nazhi, who lived c.1829–1908 and is famous for a court case in which he successfully argued that a Native American is, just like a white man, a person within the meaning of the law.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Standingbear in the United States?

The Standingbear surname saw a notable increase in popularity from 2000 to 2010, according to data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, it ranked 91,801 in popularity, but by 2010 it had risen to rank 83,541, marking a nine percent change. The count of people with this surname also grew from 186 to 225, an increase of nearly 21%. This means that for every 100,000 people in the population, about 0.08 had the surname Standingbear in 2010, up from 0.07 in 2000.

20002010Change
Rank#91,801#83,5419%
Count18622520.97%
Proportion per 100k0.070.0814.29%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Standingbear

In terms of ethnic identity, the Standingbear surname is predominantly associated with those of American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicity based on the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, approximately 93% of individuals with this surname identified as such, although this proportion decreased slightly to around 87% by 2010. Over the same period, there was a significant increase in the percentage of individuals with the Standingbear surname who identify as White, rising from 2.69% to 7.11%, and those identifying with two or more races, which increased from 2.69% to 4.89%. However, no Standingbears identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, or Black in either census year.

20002010Change
American Indian and Alaskan Native93.01%86.67%-6.82%
White2.69%7.11%164.31%
Two or More Races2.69%4.89%81.78%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
Hispanic0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%