Teague last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Teague

An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Taidg," meaning "descendant of Tadhg," a personal name meaning "poet" or "philosopher."

Teague, 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 Teague surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Teague in America

Teague is the 1456th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Teague surname appeared 24,514 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Teague.

We can also compare 2010 data for Teague 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 1456 1371 6.01%
Count 24,514 23,731 3.25%
Proportion per 100k 8.31 8.80 -5.73%

The history of the last name Teague

The surname Teague originated in Ireland, with the first known records dating back to the 12th century. It is an anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name "Ó Tuathaigh," which translates to "descendant of Tuathalach." The name Tuathalach itself is derived from the Old Irish word "tuath," meaning "people" or "territory."

The Teague family was historically associated with Counties Westmeath, Longford, and Roscommon in the central region of Ireland. The name appeared in various spellings, such as Tuithe, Tuohy, Tuohig, and Toohey, reflecting regional dialectal variations.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In the year 1170, a man named Tuathal Ua Tuathaigh is mentioned as the chief of Muintir Anghaile, a territory in County Longford.

During the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century, the Teague family was among those who resisted the invading forces. In the 14th century, a prominent member of the family, Maolmuire Ó Tuathaigh, served as the Bishop of Ardagh in County Longford.

In the 16th century, the Teague family played a significant role in the Gaelic resistance against English rule. Conn Ó Tuathaigh, also known as Conn Teague, was a notable chieftain who fought alongside the Earl of Tyrone in the Nine Years' War (1594-1603) against Queen Elizabeth I.

Another notable figure with the surname Teague was John Teague (1590-1661), an Irish Catholic priest who served as the Bishop of Meath during the tumultuous period of the Confederate Wars and the Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland.

In the 18th century, Denis Taaffe (also spelled Teague) (1670-1737) was an Irish soldier who served in the armies of Louis XIV and later became a Marshal of France. He was a prominent member of the Irish Brigade, a formation of Irish soldiers who served in the French military after the Flight of the Wild Geese.

Edward Teague (1590-1659) was an English pirate and privateer who operated in the Caribbean during the 17th century. He is known for his association with the infamous pirate Henry Morgan and his involvement in the sacking of Panama City in 1671.

Throughout history, the surname Teague has been associated with various place names, such as Tuohyville in County Mayo, Ireland, and Tuohygara, a townland in County Roscommon. The name has also been recorded in various forms, including Tew, Tewgh, and Tughie, reflecting its evolution over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Teague

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

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 Teague was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 79.55% 19,501
Non-Hispanic Black Only 14.52% 3,559
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.47% 115
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.91% 223
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.39% 586
Hispanic Origin 2.17% 532

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 79.55% 82.26% -3.35%
Black 14.52% 13.42% 7.87%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.47% 0.34% 32.10%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.91% 0.78% 15.38%
Two or More Races 2.39% 1.64% 37.22%
Hispanic 2.17% 1.56% 32.71%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Teague last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 6, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/teague-surname-popularity/.

"Teague last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/teague-surname-popularity/. Accessed 6 December, 2024

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

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