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

Timms, 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 Timms surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Timms in America

Timms is the 7625th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Timms surname appeared 4,353 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 Timms.

We can also compare 2010 data for Timms 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 Timms

The surname Timms is of English origin and is believed to have derived from the medieval given name Timm, a diminutive of the more common name Timothy. This name can be traced back to the Greek name Timotheos, meaning "honoring God" or "honoring the gods." The earliest recorded instances of the surname Timms date back to the late 13th century in various regions of England, particularly in counties like Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire.

One of the earliest known references to this surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire, a census-like record from 1273, which lists a person named Adam Timm. Another early record is the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1301, mentioning a John Tymme. These early spellings, such as Tymme and Timm, reflect the variations in spelling that were common before the standardization of English orthography.

The surname Timms is also closely associated with the village of Timms in Yorkshire, which was recorded as Timmes in the Domesday Book of 1086. It is likely that some individuals adopted the surname Timms as a locative name, indicating their origin from or association with this particular place.

Notable individuals with the surname Timms throughout history include:

1. Sir Ralph Timms (c. 1520 - 1592), an English politician and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
2. John Timms (1801 - 1875), a British architect and civil engineer known for his work on various railway projects.
3. Frederick Timms (1853 - 1917), an Australian politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland.
4. William Timms (1828 - 1892), a British trade unionist and leader of the Builders' Union in London.
5. Edith Timms (1891 - 1968), an English author and writer of children's books, best known for her "Rosemary" series.

While the surname Timms may have originated from a specific region or place within England, it has since spread to various parts of the world through migration and has been adapted to different cultural contexts and linguistic influences.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Timms

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

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

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

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