Stauffer (also commonly spelled "Stouffer" and "Stover" in North America) is a German surname, the origin of which derives from the Proto-German word staupa, meaning "steep." Staupa and its Middle High German descendant, stouf, evolved to mean, among other things, a steep hill or cliff. Many of these hills and cliffs serve as the basis for the names of such places as Staffa, Donaustauf, Hohenstaufen, Staufenberg, Regenstauf, Staufen im Breisgau, and the Staufens of Switzerland and Austria. Stauffer surnames derive from these hills. The Swiss Mennonite Stauffers common in the U.S. and Canada derive their name from a hill called Stouffe or Stauffenalp just southwest of the town of Röthenbach im Emmental in Switzerland. Notable people with the surname include:
- Brenda Stauffer (born 1961), former field hockey player
- Ethelbert Stauffer (1902–1979), German Protestant theologian and numismatist
- Grant Stauffer (1888–1949), American coal and railroad executive
- Henry Stauffer (1724–1777), German Mennonite pioneer
- Jack Stauffer (born 1945), American actor of film, television, and theater
- Jamie Stauffer (born 1979), professional motorcycle racer
- John Stauffer (born 1925), former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House and Senate
- Joseph Stauffer (1874–1917), Alberta Liberal Party MLA
- Jürg M. Stauffer (born 1977), Swiss politician
- Nathan Stauffer (19th century), first head football coach for the Dickinson College Red Devils
- Serge Stauffer (1929–1989), Swiss artist art educator
- S. Walter Stauffer (1888–1975), United States Representative from Pennsylvania
- Teddy Stauffer (1909–1993), Swiss-Mexican Swing Musician, Mr. Acapulco
- Tim Stauffer (born 1982), Major League Baseball pitcher
- Todd Stauffer (21st century), co-founder and publisher of the Jackson Free Press
- Walter Stauffer McIlhenny (1910–1985), president of McIlhenny Company