Find out how popular the last name Talmadge is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Talmadge.

Talmadge, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Talmadge surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Talmadge in America

Talmadge is the 13462nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Talmadge surname appeared 2,262 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Talmadge.

We can also compare 2010 data for Talmadge to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Talmadge

The surname Talmadge originated in England, deriving from the Old English words "tæl" meaning "tale" or "number" and "madge" meaning "man" or "servant." It is believed to have been an occupational surname given to a storyteller or court entertainer.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Talemache." This suggests that the name had already been established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.

In the 13th century, the name was often spelled as "Talmache" or "Tallemache." During this period, the Talmadges were primarily concentrated in the counties of Suffolk and Essex, where they held estates and lands.

One notable figure from this time was Sir William Talmache (c. 1280-1348), a prominent English knight who fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence and the Hundred Years' War. He was a close companion of King Edward III and was rewarded with lands in Suffolk for his military service.

Another early bearer of the name was John Talmadge (c. 1350-1420), who served as a Member of Parliament for Suffolk in the late 14th century. He was also a notable landowner and is recorded as holding manors in the villages of Bentley and Copdock.

In the 16th century, the spelling of the name began to transition to the modern form of "Talmadge." During this period, the family established itself in the county of Kent, where they held the manor of Milstead.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname was Thomas Talmadge (1609-1681), who was among the earliest settlers of Long Island, New York. He arrived in the American colonies in 1635 and went on to become a prominent merchant and landowner in the town of Southold.

Other notable figures include James Talmadge (1778-1859), a prominent American lawyer and politician who served as Governor of New York from 1817 to 1822, and James Talmadge (1862-1923), an American actor and vaudeville performer who was a popular star of the silent film era.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Talmadge

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Talmadge.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Talmadge was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Talmadge has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Talmadge was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Talmadge, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!