2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tenniswood
A locational surname referring to someone from a place containing a wood where tennis was played.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Tenniswood. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tenniswood 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.
Bearers in the US
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Tenniswood in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tenniswood, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.0%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tenniswood
The surname "TENNISWOOD" is an English habitational name derived from a place in Surrey, England. It likely originated in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.
This name is thought to have been originally spelled as "Tenniswood" or "Tennyswood," referring to a densely wooded area that was known for its tennis courts or tennis-playing grounds. The word "tennis" itself comes from the French "tenez," meaning "take this" or "receive this," which was a call used in an early form of the game.
The earliest known record of the surname TENNISWOOD dates back to 1327, when a Richard de Tennyswood was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Surrey. This suggests that the TENNISWOOD family may have held land or property in the Surrey area during that time.
In the 16th century, a John Tennyswood was listed as a resident of Guildford, Surrey, in the Muster Roll of 1522. This indicates that the family had established roots in the region over several generations.
One notable bearer of the TENNISWOOD surname was Sir William TENNISWOOD (1590-1654), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Surrey in the early 17th century.
Another person of historical significance was Mary TENNISWOOD (1645-1711), a Quaker activist and writer who was imprisoned multiple times for her religious beliefs and published several influential works on Quakerism.
In the 18th century, the TENNISWOOD family had spread to other parts of England, with records showing a Thomas TENNISWOOD (1701-1782) living in Lincolnshire and working as a merchant.
The surname TENNISWOOD also appears in various historical documents related to land ownership and taxation, such as the Hearth Tax Returns of the late 17th century and the Land Tax Assessments of the 18th century.
While the name is relatively uncommon, there have been several notable bearers of the TENNISWOOD surname throughout history, reflecting its English origins and associations with Surrey and the surrounding areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tenniswood
Among Census respondents with the surname Tenniswood, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.0%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Tenniswood 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 Tenniswood surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 106
- Two or more races6.0% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tenniswood
Tenniswood 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,071 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,162 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 8,071 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 2,162 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 Tenniswood 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 | #142,108 | #144,270 | -1.5% |
| Count | 117 | 117 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tenniswood bearers went from 117 to 117 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 2,162 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #144,270.
FAQ
Tenniswood surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tenniswood?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Tenniswood. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Tenniswood?
Tenniswood ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 117 people with the surname Tenniswood. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Tenniswood.
Has Tenniswood become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tenniswood went from 117 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Tenniswood?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tenniswood, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.0%) and Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Tenniswood in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tenniswood appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Two or More Races (6.0%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Tenniswood (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 Tenniswood mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from a place containing a wood where tennis was played. 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 Tenniswood (0.04 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 Tenniswood?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.