Tarvin last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Tarvin

Derived from a place name meaning "tarn (lake) by a fen (marsh)" in Old English.

Tarvin, 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 Tarvin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tarvin in America

Tarvin is the 13727th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tarvin surname appeared 2,205 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 Tarvin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tarvin 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 13727 13434 2.16%
Count 2,205 2,078 5.93%
Proportion per 100k 0.75 0.77 -2.63%

The history of the last name Tarvin

The surname Tarvin originated in England, possibly deriving from the place name of Tarvin, a village in Cheshire. The name Tarvin is believed to have originated from an Old English personal name combined with the word "inga," meaning "people of." This suggests that the name may have referred to the descendants or followers of someone named Tarf or Tarvine.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Tarvin can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Tervine." This entry refers to a place in Cheshire, further supporting the theory that the surname originated from the place name.

In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various records with spellings such as "Tervyn," "Tervyne," and "Tarvyn." These variations likely emerged due to the inconsistencies in spelling and pronunciation during that time period.

One notable individual with the surname Tarvin was William Tarvin, who was born in Cheshire around 1520. He was a prominent landowner and served as a justice of the peace during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Another historical figure with the Tarvin surname was John Tarvin, born in 1642 in Tarporley, Cheshire. He was a renowned clockmaker and is credited with creating some of the earliest longcase clocks in the region.

In the 18th century, Richard Tarvin (1702-1778) was a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Chester. He played a significant role in the local politics and governance of the city during his lifetime.

The Tarvin surname also found its way to the United States, with one of the earliest recorded instances being that of Thomas Tarvin, who was born in England in 1635 and immigrated to Virginia in the late 17th century.

Another notable American with the Tarvin surname was Joseph Tarvin (1786-1858), who was born in North Carolina and later became a successful businessman and landowner in Tennessee.

Throughout history, the surname Tarvin has maintained a strong connection to its English roots, particularly in the county of Cheshire, where it is believed to have originated from the village of the same name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tarvin

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

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 Tarvin was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 79.68% 1,757
Non-Hispanic Black Only 14.38% 317
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.59% 13
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.77% 17
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.36% 30
Hispanic Origin 3.22% 71

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 79.68% 83.45% -4.62%
Black 14.38% 12.70% 12.41%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.59% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.77% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.36% 1.01% 29.54%
Hispanic 3.22% 2.21% 37.20%

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Tarvin, 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!

"Tarvin last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 5, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/tarvin-surname-popularity/.

"Tarvin last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/tarvin-surname-popularity/. Accessed 5 November, 2024

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

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