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

Terpening, 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 Terpening surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Terpening in America

Terpening is the 21672nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Terpening surname appeared 1,202 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 Terpening.

We can also compare 2010 data for Terpening 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 Terpening

The surname Terpening is believed to have originated in the Netherlands, particularly in the regions of Gelderland and Overijssel, during the late medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Dutch word "terpene," which means "terp" or "artificial mound." These mounds were constructed as elevated areas for settlements to protect against flooding in low-lying regions.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Terpening can be found in the 1632 records of the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City), where a man named Gerrit Terpening was listed as a member. This suggests that the name had already been established in the Netherlands before the Dutch colonization of the New World.

In the 17th century, several individuals bearing the surname Terpening were recorded in various documents related to the Dutch settlement of New Netherland (later New York). For instance, Jacob Terpening was listed as a resident of Flatbush, Long Island, in 1675, and Johannes Terpening was recorded as a landowner in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in 1698.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Terpening surname began to spread across the United States as descendants of the original Dutch settlers migrated westward. Notable individuals with this surname include:

1. Isaac Terpening (1756-1840), a soldier in the American Revolutionary War from New York.
2. Benjamin Terpening (1819-1896), a prominent farmer and landowner in Iowa.
3. John Terpening (1836-1911), a Union soldier during the American Civil War, who later became a successful businessman in Kansas.
4. Mary Terpening (1858-1942), an educator and suffragist from Illinois.
5. William Terpening (1871-1949), a politician who served as a member of the New York State Assembly.

While the Terpening surname has its roots in the Netherlands, it has since become widely dispersed across various regions, particularly in the United States, where it has been carried on by generations of descendants of the original Dutch settlers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Terpening

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

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

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

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