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

Tews, 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 Tews surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tews in America

Tews is the 17572nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tews surname appeared 1,600 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Tews.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tews 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 Tews

The surname TEWS is of German origin, originating in the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old German word "teufel", meaning "devil". This name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone with a devilish or mischievous personality.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname TEWS can be found in various German records from the 14th and 15th centuries. One notable example is Hans Tews, a merchant from Hamburg who is mentioned in a trade record from 1462. Another early bearer of the name was Katharina Tews, born in 1501 in the town of Lübeck.

In the 16th century, the name TEWS appears in several church records in the region of Saxony. For instance, a Margaretha Tews is listed in a baptismal record from the city of Leipzig in 1587. During this time, variations of the spelling included Tewes, Tewis, and Tewitz.

As the name spread across German-speaking regions, it also became associated with certain place names. For example, the town of Tewswitz in Saxony may have been named after an early bearer of the surname. Similarly, the village of Tewitz in Thuringia potentially derived its name from the same source.

One of the earliest notable figures with the surname TEWS was Johann Tews, a Lutheran theologian born in 1644 in the town of Wittenberg. He authored several religious texts and served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg.

In the 18th century, Johann Christoph Tews (1719-1792) was a prominent German jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the city of Lübeck. His works on legal theory and practice were widely influential in his time.

Another notable bearer of the name was Theodor Tews (1832-1901), a German painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and historical scenes. He studied at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art and his works can be found in various German museums.

In the 20th century, Johanna Tews (1901-1988) was a German women's rights activist and politician. She was a member of the Reichstag in the Weimar Republic and later served in the Bundestag after World War II, advocating for women's suffrage and equal rights.

Finally, one of the most recent prominent individuals with the surname TEWS was Hans-Peter Tews (1945-2019), a German journalist and author. He worked as a foreign correspondent for several major German newspapers and wrote several non-fiction books on international affairs.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tews

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

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

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

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