2000
#3,930
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,304
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.08
Rare Last name
Tennant
An occupational surname referring to a tenant farmer or renter of land.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,863 Americans carry the last name Tennant. That puts it at #4,008 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,752 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tennant 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Tennant with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.9K
1 in 34,752
Census rank
#4,008
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,601 bearers of the surname Tennant in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4008th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tennant, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tennant
The surname Tennant originated in Scotland during the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "tenant," which means "one who holds land or property from a superior." The name likely emerged as an occupational term for a tenant farmer or a person who rented land from a landlord.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval Scottish records and charters from the 12th and 13th centuries. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Walter le Tenant, who was mentioned in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Tennand, Tennent, and Tenand, reflecting the phonetic variations common in medieval times. The surname was particularly prevalent in the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the counties of Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, and Renfrewshire.
Notable historical figures with the surname Tennant include Sir John Tennant (1758-1840), a Scottish industrialist and founder of the Tennant chemical company in Glasgow. Another prominent bearer was Sir Charles Tennant (1768-1838), a Scottish businessman and Member of Parliament for Peebles.
In the literary world, William Tennant (1784-1848) was a Scottish poet and philologist known for his poem "Anster Fair." John Tennant (1834-1913) was a Scottish explorer and naturalist who traveled extensively in Australia and published works on the flora and fauna of the region.
The surname Tennant also has connections to place names. The village of Tennant in Perthshire, Scotland, likely derived its name from the surname. Similarly, the town of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory of Australia was named after an explorer named John Tennant McDougall, who explored the region in the 1870s.
Throughout history, the Tennant surname has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including landowners, industrialists, poets, explorers, and naturalists. Its origins as an occupational name reflect the agricultural and landowning traditions of medieval Scotland, and its presence across different regions and time periods showcases the widespread dispersal of those bearing this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tennant
Among Census respondents with the surname Tennant, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Tennant 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 Tennant surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.9% · 7,298
- Black or African American7.7% · 660
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 275
- Two or more races3.2% · 273
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 64
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tennant
Tennant 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
#4,085
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,693
+389 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 2.95
Rank movement Down 155 places
2020
#4,008
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,601
-92 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 2.88
Rank movement Up 77 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,930 | 8,304 | 3.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,085 | 8,693 | 2.95 | +389 bearers (+4.7%) | Down 155 places |
| 2020 | #4,008 | 8,601 | 2.88 | -92 bearers (-1.1%) | Up 77 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 Tennant 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 | #4,085 | #4,008 | 1.9% |
| Count | 8,693 | 8,601 | -1.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.95 | 2.88 | -2.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tennant bearers went from 8,693 to 8,601 (-1.1% change). The surname moved up 77 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,085 to #4,008.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Tennant
FAQ
Tennant surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tennant?
Name Census estimates that about 9,863 living Americans carry the surname Tennant. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,752 residents.
How common is Tennant?
Tennant ranks #4,008 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,601 people with the surname Tennant. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,863), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Tennant.
Has Tennant become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tennant went from 8,693 recorded bearers to 8,601. That is a decrease of 92 (-1.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,085 to #4,008.
What does the Census say about the background of Tennant?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tennant, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Tennant in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.9% (7,298 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tennant appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.9%), Black (7.7%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Tennant (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 Tennant mean?
An occupational surname referring to a tenant farmer or renter of land. 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 Tennant (2.88 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 people have the surname Tennant?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.