2000
#3,359
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,734
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.61
Uncommon Last name
Tisdale
A locational surname referring to someone from Tisdale, a place in England meaning "a valley of the German people."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,166 Americans carry the last name Tisdale. That puts it at #3,574 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,696 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tisdale 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 Tisdale with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 30,696
Census rank
#3,574
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.7K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,737 bearers of the surname Tisdale in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3574th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tisdale, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.2%. The next largest groups are Black (38.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tisdale
The surname Tisdale is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from a place name. It is believed to have originated in the village of Tisdale, located in the county of Yorkshire, England, during the 8th or 9th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English words "tis" meaning "boundary" and "dæl" meaning "valley," suggesting the name refers to a valley situated along a boundary or border.
One of the earliest known records of the surname Tisdale can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is spelled as "Tisdell." This entry indicates that the name was already established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various forms, including "Tisdal," "Tisdell," and "Tisdill." These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in spelling and record-keeping during that time.
One notable bearer of the surname Tisdale was Sir John Tisdale (c. 1480 - 1551), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire during the reign of Henry VIII. Another prominent figure was Richard Tisdale (1581 - 1643), an English jurist and Member of Parliament during the English Civil War.
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the surname Tisdale began to appear in records of English settlers in the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances was William Tisdale, who arrived in Virginia in 1635.
Other notable individuals with the surname Tisdale throughout history include:
1. Thomas Tisdale (1583 - 1662), an English clergyman and author.
2. Eleanora Tisdale (1667 - 1735), an English diarist and writer.
3. Samuel Tisdale (1718 - 1789), an American physician and patriot during the American Revolutionary War.
4. James Tisdale (1788 - 1860), an American politician and member of the United States House of Representatives.
5. Sarah Tisdale (1856 - 1935), an American educator and activist for women's rights.
The surname Tisdale has also been associated with various place names, including Tisdale, a town in Saskatchewan, Canada, which was named after the Tisdale family who were among the early settlers in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tisdale
Among Census respondents with the surname Tisdale, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.2%. The next largest groups are Black (38.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Tisdale 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 Tisdale surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.2% · 5,183
- Black or African American38.1% · 3,710
- Two or more races4.9% · 478
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 284
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tisdale
Tisdale 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
#3,473
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,293
+559 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 3.49
Rank movement Down 114 places
2020
#3,574
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,737
-556 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 3.26
Rank movement Down 101 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,359 | 9,734 | 3.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,473 | 10,293 | 3.49 | +559 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 114 places |
| 2020 | #3,574 | 9,737 | 3.26 | -556 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 101 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 Tisdale 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 | #3,473 | #3,574 | -2.9% |
| Count | 10,293 | 9,737 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.49 | 3.26 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tisdale bearers went from 10,293 to 9,737 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 101 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,473 to #3,574.
FAQ
Tisdale surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tisdale?
Name Census estimates that about 11,166 living Americans carry the surname Tisdale. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,696 residents.
How common is Tisdale?
Tisdale ranks #3,574 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,737 people with the surname Tisdale. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,166), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Tisdale.
Has Tisdale become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tisdale went from 10,293 recorded bearers to 9,737. That is a decrease of 556 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,473 to #3,574.
What does the Census say about the background of Tisdale?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tisdale, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.2%. The next largest groups are Black (38.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Tisdale in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.2% (5,183 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tisdale appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (53.2%), Black (38.1%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Tisdale (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 Tisdale mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from Tisdale, a place in England meaning "a valley of the German people." 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 Tisdale (3.26 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 have the surname Tisdale?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.