2000
#7,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,197
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.56
Rare Last name
Timms
An English surname derived from the given name Timothy, meaning "honoring God" or "fearing God" in Greek.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,798 Americans carry the last name Timms. That puts it at #7,627 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 71,437 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Timms 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 Timms with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.8K
1 in 71,437
Census rank
#7,627
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,184 bearers of the surname Timms in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7627th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Timms, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.6%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Timms
Among Census respondents with the surname Timms, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.6%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Timms 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 Timms surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.6% · 3,165
- Black or African American16.1% · 672
- Two or more races3.9% · 164
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 142
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Timms
Timms 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
#7,625
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,353
+156 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 1.48
Rank movement Down 311 places
2020
#7,627
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,184
-169 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 1.40
Rank movement Down 2 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,314 | 4,197 | 1.56 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,625 | 4,353 | 1.48 | +156 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 311 places |
| 2020 | #7,627 | 4,184 | 1.40 | -169 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 2 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 Timms 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 | #7,625 | #7,627 | -0.0% |
| Count | 4,353 | 4,184 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.48 | 1.40 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Timms bearers went from 4,353 to 4,184 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 2 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,625 to #7,627.
FAQ
Timms surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Timms?
Name Census estimates that about 4,798 living Americans carry the surname Timms. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 71,437 residents.
How common is Timms?
Timms ranks #7,627 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.40 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 4,184 people with the surname Timms. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,798), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.40 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 Timms.
Has Timms become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Timms went from 4,353 recorded bearers to 4,184. That is a decrease of 169 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,625 to #7,627.
What does the Census say about the background of Timms?
Among Census respondents with the surname Timms, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.6%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Timms in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.6% (3,165 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Timms appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.6%), Black (16.1%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Timms (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 Timms mean?
An English surname derived from the given name Timothy, meaning "honoring God" or "fearing God" in Greek. 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 Timms (1.40 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 Timms?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.