2000
#119,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Tisza
A Hungarian surname derived from the Tisza river.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Tisza. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tisza 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.
Bearers in the US
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Tisza in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tisza, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tisza
The surname Tisza is of Hungarian origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the name of the Tisza River, which flows through several countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Hungary, Serbia, Romania, and Ukraine.
The Tisza River was an important waterway in medieval times, and many settlements sprang up along its banks. The name Tisza is believed to have been used as a surname by people who lived near or had some connection with the river.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tisza can be found in a document from 1274, which mentions a man named Petrus de Ticia, or Peter of Tisza. This suggests that the name was already in use by the 13th century.
In the 14th century, the name appears in several Hungarian records, such as the Regestrum Varadiense, a collection of legal documents from the Bishopric of Varad (now Oradea, Romania). This suggests that the name was well-established in Hungary during this period.
Over the centuries, the surname Tisza has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the most famous was Kálmán Tisza (1830-1902), a Hungarian politician and Prime Minister of Hungary from 1875 to 1890. He played a significant role in modernizing Hungary's economy and infrastructure.
Another prominent figure was István Tisza (1861-1918), a Hungarian politician and Prime Minister of Hungary from 1903 to 1905 and again from 1913 to 1917. He was a controversial figure who was assassinated in 1918 during the chaos following World War I.
In the early 20th century, Lajos Tisza (1887-1939) was a Hungarian nobleman and politician who served as the last Speaker of the House of Magnates, the upper house of the Hungarian parliament.
More recently, István Tisza (1924-2005) was a Hungarian chemist and academic who made significant contributions to the study of organic chemistry and polymer science.
While the surname Tisza is primarily associated with Hungary, it has also been found in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe due to migration and population movements over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tisza
Among Census respondents with the surname Tisza, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Tisza 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 Tisza surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.8% · 95
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 7
- Two or more races5.4% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 3
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tisza
Tisza 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
-7 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,404 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-15 bearers (-11.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,906 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #119,644 | 134 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 13,404 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-11.8%) | Down 14,906 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 Tisza 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 | #133,048 | #147,954 | -11.2% |
| Count | 127 | 112 | -11.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tisza bearers went from 127 to 112 (-11.8% change). The surname moved down 14,906 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #147,954.
FAQ
Tisza surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tisza?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Tisza. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Tisza?
Tisza ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Tisza. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Tisza.
Has Tisza become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tisza went from 127 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 15 (-11.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Tisza?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tisza, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Tisza in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tisza appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.8%), Hispanic (6.3%), Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Tisza (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 Tisza mean?
A Hungarian surname derived from the Tisza river. 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 Tisza (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 people have the last name Tisza?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Tisza, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.