2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Testut
A French surname derived from a dialect word meaning "obstinate" or "headstrong".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Testut. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Testut 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Testut in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Testut, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.8%) and Black (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Testut
The surname TESTUT is of French origin and can be traced back to the early 13th century. It is derived from the Old French word "teste," meaning head or skull, and was likely an occupational name for someone who worked with animal heads or skulls, such as a butcher or a hunter.
The TESTUT surname was first recorded in the region of Normandy, France, where it was found in various spellings such as Testut, Testud, and Tetu. It later spread to other parts of France, particularly the regions of Burgundy and Champagne.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the TESTUT surname can be found in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, a medieval manuscript dating back to the 13th century, which mentions a certain Petrus Testut.
In the 14th century, the TESTUT surname appeared in the Armorial Général de France, a national register of coats of arms, indicating that some members of the family had achieved a certain level of nobility or prominence during that time.
Jean Testut (1460-1529), a French jurist and legal scholar from Burgundy, is among the earliest notable individuals to bear the TESTUT surname. He served as a counselor to the Parliament of Burgundy and authored several works on legal matters.
Another notable TESTUT was André Testut (1620-1695), a French Jesuit priest and mathematician from Champagne. He taught mathematics and theology at the Jesuit College in Paris and published several works on geometry and astronomy.
In the 18th century, Jacques Testut (1736-1810) was a French architect from Burgundy who designed several notable buildings in the region, including the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) of Dijon.
During the 19th century, Léo Testut (1849-1925) was a prominent French anatomist and professor at the University of Lyon. He authored numerous works on human anatomy and is considered a pioneer in the field of anatomical illustration.
The TESTUT surname has also been found in other parts of Europe, particularly in Spain and Italy, where it likely spread through migration or as a result of French influence in those regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Testut
Among Census respondents with the surname Testut, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.8%) and Black (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Testut 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 Testut surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.0% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino14.8% · 17
- Black or African American2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Testut
Testut 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+11 bearers (+10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,875 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 537 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.7%) | Up 1,875 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 537 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 Testut 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 | #145,220 | #145,757 | -0.4% |
| Count | 114 | 115 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Testut bearers went from 114 to 115 (+0.9% change). The surname moved down 537 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #145,757.
FAQ
Testut surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Testut?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Testut. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Testut?
Testut ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Testut. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Testut.
Has Testut become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Testut went from 114 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Testut?
Among Census respondents with the surname Testut, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.8%) and Black (2.6%). 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 Testut in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.0% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Testut appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.0%), Hispanic (14.8%), Black (2.6%). 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 Testut (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 Testut mean?
A French surname derived from a dialect word meaning "obstinate" or "headstrong". 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 Testut (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 are called Testut?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Testut? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.