2000
#12,502
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,273
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.84
Rare Last name
Talmadge
Derived from a place name meaning "plowed field" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived near one.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,488 Americans carry the last name Talmadge. That puts it at #13,411 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,763 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Talmadge surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 137,763
Census rank
#13,411
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,170 bearers of the surname Talmadge in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13411th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Talmadge, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Hispanic (6.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Talmadge
Among Census respondents with the surname Talmadge, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Hispanic (6.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Talmadge bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Talmadge surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.8% · 1,624
- Black or African American11.8% · 256
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 148
- Two or more races5.0% · 108
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Talmadge
Talmadge appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#13,462
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,262
-11 bearers (-0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 960 places
2020
#13,411
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,170
-92 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 51 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,502 | 2,273 | 0.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,462 | 2,262 | 0.77 | -11 bearers (-0.5%) | Down 960 places |
| 2020 | #13,411 | 2,170 | 0.73 | -92 bearers (-4.1%) | Up 51 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Talmadge surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,462 | #13,411 | 0.4% |
| Count | 2,262 | 2,170 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.73 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Talmadge bearers went from 2,262 to 2,170 (-4.1% change). The surname moved up 51 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,462 to #13,411.
FAQ
Talmadge surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Talmadge?
Name Census estimates that about 2,488 living Americans carry the surname Talmadge. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,763 residents.
How common is Talmadge?
Talmadge ranks #13,411 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,170 people with the surname Talmadge. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,488), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Talmadge.
Has Talmadge become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Talmadge went from 2,262 recorded bearers to 2,170. That is a decrease of 92 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,462 to #13,411.
What does the Census say about the background of Talmadge?
Among Census respondents with the surname Talmadge, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Hispanic (6.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Talmadge in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.8% (1,624 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Talmadge appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.8%), Black (11.8%), Hispanic (6.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Talmadge (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Talmadge mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "plowed field" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived near one. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Talmadge (0.73 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Talmadge?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Talmadge on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.