Tep last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Tep

An English surname potentially derived from Middle English words for a boundary or border area.

Tep, 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 Tep surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tep in America

Tep is the 28263rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tep surname appeared 846 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 Tep.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tep 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 28263 33292 -16.34%
Count 846 647 26.66%
Proportion per 100k 0.29 0.24 18.87%

The history of the last name Tep

The surname TEP is believed to have originated in the Netherlands, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Dutch word "tep," which means a small piece or fragment. This could suggest that the name was initially applied to someone who worked with small objects or pieces, such as a craftsman or artisan.

One of the earliest documented instances of the surname TEP can be found in the records of the city of Amsterdam, where a certain Jan Tep was listed as a resident in the year 1582. Another notable early reference is in the archives of the city of Leiden, where a Pieter Tep was mentioned in a land transaction dated 1618.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname began to spread beyond the Netherlands, with some bearers migrating to other parts of Europe and even to the Americas. In 1704, a man named Cornelis Tep was recorded as a citizen of the Danish-controlled city of Tranquebar, in present-day India, suggesting that the name had reached far corners of the world by that time.

One of the earliest known individuals of note with the surname TEP was Jacob Tep, a renowned Dutch painter who lived from 1615 to 1672. His works, which included landscapes and portraits, can still be found in various museums and private collections across Europe.

Another notable figure was Pieter Tep, a Dutch navigator and explorer who played a significant role in the establishment of the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) in the early 17th century. He was born in 1587 and died in 1632.

In the 19th century, the surname gained further prominence with the birth of Johannes Tep (1819-1892), a Dutch theologian and author who wrote extensively on religious and philosophical topics. His works were widely read and influential during his lifetime.

Other individuals of note include Hans Tep (1901-1978), a German-born artist and sculptor who was active in the United States, and Gerrit Tep (1925-2003), a Dutch politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Netherlands from 1971 to 1986.

While the surname TEP may not be as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of names that have their roots in the history and culture of the Netherlands and its surrounding regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tep

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

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 Tep was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 3.55% 30
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 89.95% 761
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.72% 23
Hispanic Origin 3.78% 32

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 3.55% 2.16% 48.69%
Black 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 89.95% 88.72% 1.38%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 2.72% 5.72% -71.09%
Hispanic 3.78% 2.63% 35.88%

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

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

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