Tansy last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Tansy

A surname derived from the Tansy plant, known for its yellow, button-like flowers.

Tansy, 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 Tansy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tansy in America

Tansy is the 90113th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tansy surname appeared 205 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Tansy.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tansy 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 90113 99725 -10.13%
Count 205 168 19.84%
Proportion per 100k 0.07 0.06 15.38%

The history of the last name Tansy

The surname TANSY has its origins in England, with records dating back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "tansie," which referred to the tansy plant, a yellow-flowered herb in the daisy family. This plant was widely used in cooking and for medicinal purposes during medieval times.

Early references to the name TANSY can be found in various historical documents, including the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from the late 12th century, which mention a person named Radulfus Tansie. The Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, dating back to 1279, also record a John Tancy.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname TANSY was William Tansy, who was born in Somerset, England, around 1320. He was a landowner and farmer who lived in the village of Somerton.

In the 14th century, the name TANSY appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire, where a John Taunsy was listed as a taxpayer in 1327. Around the same time, the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire mentioned a Robert Tancy in 1344.

During the 15th century, the name TANSY was found in various records across England. For instance, the Court Rolls of Wakefield, Yorkshire, recorded a John Tansay in 1459, while the Feet of Fines of Warwickshire mentioned a Thomas Tawnsey in 1495.

Notable individuals with the surname TANSY include:

  1. Sir Thomas Tansy (c. 1480-1550), an English merchant and alderman of the City of London.
  2. William Tansy (c. 1520-1585), an English clergyman and writer from Leicestershire.
  3. John Tansy (c. 1570-1640), a wealthy landowner and farmer from Gloucestershire.
  4. Elizabeth Tansy (c. 1610-1680), a renowned herbalist and healer from Dorset.
  5. Richard Tansy (c. 1650-1715), an English soldier who fought in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession.

Over time, the name TANSY has seen various spelling variations, such as Tancy, Taunsy, Tawnsey, and Tansay, reflecting regional dialects and scribal variations in historical records.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tansy

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

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 Tansy was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 90.73% 186
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 3.90% 8

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 Tansy has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 90.73% 93.45% -2.95%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 4.17% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Hispanic 3.90% (S)% (S)%

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 Tansy was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Tansy last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 17, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/tansy-surname-popularity/.

"Tansy last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/tansy-surname-popularity/. Accessed 17 July, 2025

Tansy last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/tansy-surname-popularity/.

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