Stead Surname

27,941st
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 19,239 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Jersey

Stead Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the stead,' a place, a station, a settlement; compare homestead, market-stead (= market-place). A great Yorkshire surname. The Market-place, Manchester, was the Market-stead till the close of the last century.

Read More About This Surname

Stead Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England9,3421:5,964855
United States3,6801:98,49410,953
Australia1,8441:14,6402,071
Canada1,5641:23,5593,203
South Africa7031:77,0669,556
New Zealand5961:7,5981,297
Wales3411:9,0751,004
Scotland2561:20,9132,415
Ecuador1221:130,3766,777
France1221:544,44974,270
Iran1101:698,02336,723
Zimbabwe881:175,43521,257
Thailand791:894,156140,446
Northern Ireland571:32,3693,269
Spain471:994,72437,216
Jersey341:2,918527
Dominican Republic231:453,60614,824
Singapore211:262,27211,611
Ireland191:247,8399,475
Germany191:4,237,129172,669
Switzerland181:456,27333,097
Isle of Man161:5,3641,196
Norway131:395,56035,657
Belgium101:1,149,66482,403
Saint Kitts and Nevis101:5,520561
Qatar91:262,00030,726
Denmark81:705,58939,626
Papua New Guinea71:1,164,817109,517
Chile61:2,936,07935,997
China61:227,886,92811,701
Bermuda51:13,0561,849
Brazil51:42,814,866547,158
Saint Lucia51:35,7561,958
Czechia41:2,658,367127,801
Malaysia41:7,373,556230,001
United Arab Emirates41:2,290,56860,372
Hong Kong41:1,833,8716,220
South Korea31:17,080,0852,793
Netherlands31:5,629,059132,535
Mexico21:62,063,10283,384
Israel21:4,278,817136,311
Zambia21:7,924,96145,994
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
India21:383,532,6911,645,216
Argentina21:21,371,707253,176
Andorra11:83,8382,381
Mauritius11:1,293,41716,552
Guatemala11:16,082,66812,169
Barbados11:287,4482,772
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Trinidad and Tobago11:1,363,97522,013
Malawi11:17,119,10934,144
Estonia11:1,321,80440,178
Madagascar11:23,649,8379,420
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Botswana11:2,186,92930,250
Taiwan11:23,444,74693,622
Mozambique11:27,261,5697,432
Sweden11:9,846,757347,448
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Bulgaria11:6,978,90586,260
Oman11:3,687,97114,390
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland461:96,3016,269
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England6,0381:4,037582
Wales641:24,5071,407
Scotland331:113,4315,331
Jersey31:17,2942,528
Isle of Man11:54,2692,077
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States8861:56,6806,321

Stead (234) may also be a first name.

Stead Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the stead,' a place, a station, a settlement; compare homestead, market-stead (= market-place). A great Yorkshire surname. The Market-place, Manchester, was the Market-stead till the close of the last century. The Market-stead, Ulverston, is commonly so set down in the parish registers till 1790.

John Stede, Suffolk, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Robertas del Stede, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Ricardus del Stede, 1379: ibid.

Petrus del Stede, 1379: ibid.

Laurence del Stede, 1379: ibid.

1589. Baptised — Katherne, d. John Steade: St. James, Clerkenwell.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) Dweller at a Farmstead [Prov. English stead, ‘a farmhouse and offices’; Middle English Old English stede, a place (=Dut. and Scandinavian stad, a town] Richard de Stede.— Lanc. Assize-Rolls, A.D. 1275-6.

Ricardus del Stede.—Yorks Poll-Tax, A.D. 1379.

There are occasionally dialectal variations of the signification given above, e.g.— “Stead: an unenclosed plot on a mountain or common on which certain parties have defined rights . . .”.—Cumberl. Gloss., p. 94.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

“Farmer” in Old English. (Compare “Homestead”.)

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(English, Welsh) Dweller at a dairy farm.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

Anglo-Saxon stcade, a stead, station, or place. Halliw says. ' a farm house and offices.' A Steadman was therefore a farmer, or perhaps a farm-bailiff.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

A place enclosed, a station or standing place. Stad, and stede, in Dutch, signifies a town.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

From Stidd; a location name in Lancashire Or Stydd, Derbyshire.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Stead: (Anglo-Saxon), a home: Hampstead, Ringstead, Greenstead, Felsted, Wellstead. Stedman is a farmer; Westhead is the western stead.

Family Names And Their Story (1913) by Sabine Baring-Gould

Stead is usually a characteristic Yorkshire name. A family of Steade owned More Hall in Bolsterstone during the greater part of last century (H. H).

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

The Steads are now found mostly in Yorkshire, but the name has long been represented in the English border shires of Wales. Between 1600 and 1663, four of the bailiffs of Leominster, Herefordshire, bore this name (Townsend), and the name is now established in Monmouthshire.

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Stead Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Stead Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Stead is more frequently found in England than any other country/territory. It can also be found as a variant:. For other possible spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Stead? popularity and diffusion

Stead is the 27,941st most widespread last name worldwide. It is borne by around 1 in 378,790 people. The last name Stead occurs predominantly in Europe, where 54 percent of Stead live; 52 percent live in Northern Europe and 52 percent live in British Isles. Stead is also the 585,759th most frequently occurring first name globally, held by 234 people.

The surname is most prevalent in England, where it is held by 9,342 people, or 1 in 5,964. In England Stead is most common in: West Yorkshire, where 28 percent live, North Yorkshire, where 8 percent live and Greater London, where 7 percent live. Beside England this last name is found in 64 countries. It is also common in The United States, where 19 percent live and Australia, where 10 percent live.

Stead Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Stead has changed over time. In England the number of people who held the Stead surname expanded 155 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it expanded 415 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Wales it expanded 533 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 776 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it fell 59 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Stead Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those carrying the Stead surname is primarily Presbyterian (39%) in Ireland.

In The United States Stead are 10.97% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 57.74% being registered with the party.

The amount Stead earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 15.83% less than the national average, earning 291,296 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 53.53% more than the national average, earning R 364,848 per year; in United States they earn 6.02% more than the national average, earning $45,747 USD per year and in Canada they earn 0.61% less than the national average, earning $49,378 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Steads9116/
Steyad917/
Steadt912/
Steiad911/
Steadz911/
Steadd910/
Steuad910/
Stea891,558/
Stad89693/
Sted89153/
Steiahd831/
D'Stead831/
Steed8017,860/
Staud801,177/
Stadt80939/
Stedt80601/
Staed80183/
Steha80124/
Stadh80122/
Staid8096/
Stads8093/
Østad8050/
Steid8046/
Stadd8028/
Staad8026/
Steas8012/
Åstad8010/
Steah809/
Steja806/
Stedd805/
Stied803/
Steia803/
Steds802/
Stayd802/
Steya802/
Østed802/
Åsted802/
Shtea802/
Steat801/
Stted801/
Stedz801/
Sthea801/
Steap800/
Steea800/
Stahd800/
Steadová771/
Sta75721/
Ste75180/
Staudt7313,016/
Steeds73592/
Åstedt73251/
Staadt73231/
Sæstad73176/
Steach73166/
Søsted73130/
Hæstad73130/
Staedt73127/
Jåstad73111/
Stadts7350/
Høstad7345/
Såstad7344/
Steapp7321/
Staads7320/
Håstad7318/
Steath7312/
Steidt7310/
Shtadt738/
Staidt735/
Steeha735/
Stayed735/
S'Teya734/
Shteha734/
Sjstad733/
Steudt732/
Steats731/
Steeja731/
Stoyad731/
Steuat731/
Stgadd731/
Stgedt731/
Stadds731/
Stajdz731/
Staudd731/
Stayad731/
Stawed731/
Stautd731/
Stadte731/
Stehap731/
Stedds730/
Steesd730/
Stowed730/
Steass730/
Staddt730/
Stahdt730/
Steods730/
Staued730/
Steabp730/
Stadtz730/
Staatd730/
Stheid730/
Stas676,352/
Ster674,893/
Stah672,601/
Stay672,556/
Step672,522/
Steć672,366/
Stap671,422/
Stai671,203/
Stey671,121/
Stet67796/
Stoe67515/
Shta67507/
Stoa67474/
Sjåstad67450/
Stie67376/
Støa67351/
Stes67297/
Steu67255/
Stee67241/
Stei67210/
Steudte67201/
Staz67188/
Stat67171/
Staß67151/
Stau67150/
Staa67138/
Steh67121/
Højsted67118/
Stid6778/
Stae6770/
Sæta6753/
Sjstedt6750/
Stue6750/
Stye6736/
Stez6736/
Stehova6720/
Staj6717/
Støe6715/
Steidte6715/
Sthe6713/
Sste6712/
Åhstedt679/
Städ678/
Shte677/
Staadts676/
Stta676/
Steihed676/
Steś676/
Stée676/
Stej675/
Stha674/
Håstedt674/
Hsta674/
Åste674/
Stte672/
Shtaudt671/
Jsta671/
S'Ta671/
Steatch671/
Stje671/
Ztea671/
Stèa671/
Stéa671/
Sjøsted671/
Staș671/
Shteyah671/
Stge671/
Shhteah671/
Sxta671/
Styd671/
Szte671/
Stjd671/
Zsta671/
Ztad671/
Stiedtt670/

Search for Another Surname

Stead Reference & Research

Stead One-name Study - A profile of the Stead surname with contact details for a researcher who collects any information pertaining to it.

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Stead
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis