2000
#7,546
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,064
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.51
Rare Last name
Terwilliger
Derived from the Middle Dutch words "ter" (at the) and "williger" (willow tree), indicating someone living near a willow tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,367 Americans carry the last name Terwilliger. That puts it at #8,321 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 78,487 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Terwilliger 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
4.4K
1 in 78,487
Census rank
#8,321
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,808 bearers of the surname Terwilliger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8321st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Terwilliger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Terwilliger
The surname Terwilliger is of Dutch origin, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 17th century in the Netherlands. It is derived from the Old Dutch words "ter" meaning "at the" and "wilg" meaning "willow tree." Together, they form the phrase "at the willow tree," suggesting that the name may have originated from a location or landmark near a willow tree.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Terwilliger surname can be found in the Calvinistic Dutch Reformed Church records from the town of Dordrecht, in the province of South Holland, in the year 1657. These records document the baptism of a child named Hendrick Terwilliger, indicating that the family had already established a presence in the region by that time.
As Dutch settlers began emigrating to the New World in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Terwilliger name found its way to the American colonies. One notable early bearer of the name was Petrus Terwilliger, born around 1645 in the Netherlands, who arrived in New Netherland (present-day New York) in the late 1600s and settled in the area that is now Kingston, Ulster County.
In the early 1800s, a branch of the Terwilliger family relocated to Pennsylvania, where they became prominent landowners and farmers. One such individual was Jacob Terwilliger, born in 1785, who owned a sizable farming estate in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.
Another notable figure in Terwilliger history is Levi Terwilliger, born in 1823 in New York. He was a renowned lawyer and judge who served as a Justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1877 to 1895. His legal expertise and judicial decisions left a lasting impact on the state's jurisprudence.
Moving into the 20th century, the Terwilliger name gained further recognition with the accomplishments of George Terwilliger, born in 1891 in California. He was a successful businessman and real estate developer who played a pivotal role in shaping the growth and development of the city of Los Angeles in the early to mid-1900s.
Throughout its history, the Terwilliger surname has been associated with various professions, from agriculture and law to business and real estate development, reflecting the diverse contributions of its bearers to the societies in which they lived.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terwilliger
Among Census respondents with the surname Terwilliger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Terwilliger 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 Terwilliger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 3,535
- Two or more races3.0% · 116
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 106
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 29
- Black or African American0.3% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Terwilliger
Terwilliger 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
#7,966
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,153
+89 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 1.41
Rank movement Down 420 places
2020
#8,321
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,808
-345 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 1.27
Rank movement Down 355 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,546 | 4,064 | 1.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,966 | 4,153 | 1.41 | +89 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 420 places |
| 2020 | #8,321 | 3,808 | 1.27 | -345 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 355 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 Terwilliger 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 | #7,966 | #8,321 | -4.5% |
| Count | 4,153 | 3,808 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.41 | 1.27 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Terwilliger bearers went from 4,153 to 3,808 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 355 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,966 to #8,321.
FAQ
Terwilliger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Terwilliger?
Name Census estimates that about 4,367 living Americans carry the surname Terwilliger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 78,487 residents.
How common is Terwilliger?
Terwilliger ranks #8,321 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.27 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,808 people with the surname Terwilliger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,367), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.27 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Terwilliger.
Has Terwilliger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Terwilliger went from 4,153 recorded bearers to 3,808. That is a decrease of 345 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,966 to #8,321.
What does the Census say about the background of Terwilliger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Terwilliger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Terwilliger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (3,535 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Terwilliger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Terwilliger (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 Terwilliger mean?
Derived from the Middle Dutch words "ter" (at the) and "williger" (willow tree), indicating someone living near a willow tree. 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 Terwilliger (1.27 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 share the surname Terwilliger?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.