2000
#5,417
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,918
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.19
Rare Last name
Tankersley
Derived from a place name meaning "clearing by a stream" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,695 Americans carry the last name Tankersley. That puts it at #5,718 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 51,196 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tankersley 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
6.7K
1 in 51,196
Census rank
#5,718
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,838 bearers of the surname Tankersley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5718th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tankersley, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tankersley
The surname Tankersley originated in England, likely in the early medieval period. It is a locational name, derived from the place name Tankersley, a village in South Yorkshire. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English words "tancer" meaning a tanner or worker of leather, and "leah" meaning a woodland clearing or meadow.
The earliest recorded mention of the name Tankersley can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Tancredelei" and "Tancredeleia". This suggests that the name was already established by the late 11th century. Other early spellings include Tankersley, Tankersly, and Tankardsley.
In the 13th century, a Johannis de Tankardsley is recorded as holding lands in Tankersley. In the 14th century, a John de Tankersley is mentioned in the Yorkshire Feet of Fines, a legal document related to land ownership and transfers.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name was Sir Richard Tankersley, a Member of Parliament for Yorkshire in the early 15th century. He was born around 1390 and died in 1458.
In the 16th century, John Tankersley was a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of York. He was born in 1520 and died in 1598.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Captain Thomas Tankersley served as a Royalist officer under King Charles I. He was born in 1610 and died in 1678.
In the 18th century, Reverend John Tankersley was a notable clergyman and author, born in 1735 and died in 1810. He wrote several religious works and served as a vicar in Yorkshire.
Moving into the 19th century, Sir John Samuel Tankersley was a successful industrialist and philanthropist. Born in 1815, he founded the Tankersley Steel Company and donated funds for the construction of schools and hospitals in South Yorkshire. He died in 1892.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tankersley
Among Census respondents with the surname Tankersley, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Tankersley 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 Tankersley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.3% · 5,040
- Black or African American5.0% · 294
- Two or more races4.1% · 240
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 178
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 40
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tankersley
Tankersley 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
#5,782
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,990
+72 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 2.03
Rank movement Down 365 places
2020
#5,718
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,838
-152 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 1.95
Rank movement Up 64 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,417 | 5,918 | 2.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,782 | 5,990 | 2.03 | +72 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 365 places |
| 2020 | #5,718 | 5,838 | 1.95 | -152 bearers (-2.5%) | Up 64 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 Tankersley 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 | #5,782 | #5,718 | 1.1% |
| Count | 5,990 | 5,838 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.03 | 1.95 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tankersley bearers went from 5,990 to 5,838 (-2.5% change). The surname moved up 64 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,782 to #5,718.
FAQ
Tankersley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tankersley?
Name Census estimates that about 6,695 living Americans carry the surname Tankersley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 51,196 residents.
How common is Tankersley?
Tankersley ranks #5,718 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.95 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,838 people with the surname Tankersley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,695), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.95 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Tankersley.
Has Tankersley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tankersley went from 5,990 recorded bearers to 5,838. That is a decrease of 152 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,782 to #5,718.
What does the Census say about the background of Tankersley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tankersley, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Tankersley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (5,040 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tankersley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.3%), Black (5.0%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Tankersley (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 Tankersley mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "clearing by a stream" in Old English. 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 Tankersley (1.95 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 many Americans have the surname Tankersley?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.