2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tether
A surname referring to a rope or chain used to tie or restrain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Tether. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tether 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Tether with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Tether in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tether, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (7.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tether
The surname Tether has its origins in England, dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "tider," meaning a person who gathered and tied bundles of straw or hay. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was Tydere, found in the Pipe Rolls of Hertfordshire in 1273.
The Tether name was predominantly found in the counties of Hertfordshire, Essex, and Suffolk during the medieval period. In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, there is a reference to a William le Tydere residing in Hertfordshire. The Tether surname also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Essex in 1327, suggesting its presence in that region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tether can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a landowner named Theodric Tydere is mentioned as holding estates in Hertfordshire. This is considered one of the earliest documented uses of the name in its present form.
The Tether surname underwent various spelling variations over the centuries, including Tydere, Tidder, Tyder, and Tydyr, before settling into its modern form. These variations were likely influenced by regional dialects and the inconsistencies in record-keeping during the Middle Ages.
Notable individuals with the surname Tether throughout history include:
1. Sir John Tether (1555-1619), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire during the reign of Elizabeth I.
2. William Tether (1680-1745), a prominent landowner and magistrate in Essex during the 18th century.
3. Mary Tether (1720-1789), a renowned British botanist and author of "The Floral Guide to Essex County."
4. Thomas Tether (1810-1876), a pioneering industrialist and founder of the Tether Textile Mills in Manchester.
5. Evelyn Tether (1885-1967), a British explorer and author who documented her travels through the Middle East and Africa in several books.
The surname Tether has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Tether's End in Hertfordshire and Tether's Green in Essex, further underscoring its deep-rooted connections to the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tether
Among Census respondents with the surname Tether, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (7.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Tether 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 Tether surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.9% · 90
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 8
- Two or more races7.5% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tether
Tether 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,470 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-6 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,086 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 10,470 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 5,086 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 Tether 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 | #147,253 | #152,339 | -3.5% |
| Count | 112 | 106 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tether bearers went from 112 to 106 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 5,086 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #152,339.
FAQ
Tether surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tether?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Tether. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Tether?
Tether ranks #152,339 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 106 people with the surname Tether. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), 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 Tether.
Has Tether become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tether went from 112 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Tether?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tether, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (7.5%). 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 Tether in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.9% (90 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tether appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.9%), Hispanic (7.5%), Two or More Races (7.5%). 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 Tether (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 Tether mean?
A surname referring to a rope or chain used to tie or restrain. 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 Tether (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 Americans have the surname Tether?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.