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

Taunton, 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 Taunton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Taunton in America

Taunton is the 19282nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Taunton surname appeared 1,405 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 Taunton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Taunton 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 Taunton

The surname Taunton is of English origin, derived from the town of Taunton in Somerset, England. The name of the town itself is believed to come from the Old English words "tan tun," meaning "town on the River Tone."

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Taunton dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Tantone." This suggests that the surname was already in use by the late 11th century, likely referring to someone who hailed from the town of Taunton or its surrounding areas.

In the 13th century, the surname appears in various records with different spellings, such as "Taunton," "Tanton," and "Taunton." This variation in spelling was common during that time period due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions.

One notable historical figure with the surname Taunton was Sir William Taunton (c. 1475-1548), a member of the English gentry and a prominent landowner in Somerset. He served as a Member of Parliament for Somerset during the reign of Henry VIII.

Another individual of note was John Taunton (1633-1701), an English clergyman and author who wrote several theological works, including "The Wisdom of Being Religious" and "The Englishman's Manual."

In the 18th century, Thomas Taunton (1718-1790) was a renowned English clockmaker and inventor. He is credited with developing several innovations in clock design, including the cylinder escapement and the detached lever escapement.

During the 19th century, Henry Labouchere Taunton (1798-1869) was a British colonial administrator who served as the Governor of the Cape Colony (now part of South Africa) from 1834 to 1835.

More recently, Sir Henry Taunton (1891-1963) was a British civil servant and diplomat who served as the Governor of Queensland, Australia, from 1946 to 1952.

While the surname Taunton has its roots in the English town of the same name, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly to countries with historical British connections, such as Australia, Canada, and the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Taunton

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

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

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

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