Explore the Family Name Stapley

The meaning of Stapley

English (Kent and Sussex): habitational name from a lost place called Stapele recorded in the 13th century in the manor of Wootton in East Chiltington (Sussex). The placename probably derives from Old English stapol ‘post, pillar’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’; the reference may have been to a place where timber was got for posts.

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

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

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Stapley ranked 22,443 in popularity in 2000 and then dropped to rank 24,201 in 2010, indicating a decrease of 7.83%. The number of people bearing this surname also slightly declined from 1,070 in 2000 to 1,038 in 2010, a reduction of close to 3%. The frequency of the name per 100,000 residents also saw a decline of 12.5% from 0.4 in 2000 to 0.35 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#22,443	#24,201	-7.83%
Count	1,070	1,038	-2.99%
Proportion per 100k	0.4	0.35	-12.5%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Stapley

As for the ethnic identity associated with the Stapley surname, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that there was no recorded Asian/Pacific Islander or Black individuals bearing the surname in either 2000 or 2010. It also shows a complete disappearance of American Indian and Alaskan Natives with the name by 2010. However, there was an increase in the percentage of people identifying as two or more races, with a rise of 11.61%, and Hispanics, with a rise of 13.27%. Meanwhile, the majority of bearers of the surname Stapley identified as White, a figure that remained relatively stable with a slight increase of 0.06%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.89%	95.95%	0.06%
Hispanic	1.96%	2.22%	13.27%
Two or More Races	1.12%	1.25%	11.61%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.56%	0%	0%