# Steiger (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/steiger/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from German.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | German |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 3,986 |
| US rank (2010) | 8,313 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 77,457 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.1% (3,828 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* As a German surname, variant of Steger. * Also as a German occupational surname for a foreman or mine inspector, and for someone who lived near a steep road, from Steiger (“foreman”, literally “one who ascends”) (see below). * Also as a German surname, from the placename Steige in Alsace or Steige in Baden-Württemberg, these names themselves related to the word meaning to climb or ascend.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Steiger in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 96% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.7% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Steiger in the United States and Switzerland.

## People named Steiger

- Rod Steiger, American actor (1925–2002)
- Brad Steiger, American author (1936-2018)
- Flora Steiger-Crawford, architect, sculptor (1899-1991)

## Similar surnames

Steger, Stager, Stiger, Staiger, Stigger, Sweitzer, Stecker, Steigerwald, Switzer, Schweitzer, Stoker, Stocker.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.