2000
#2,172
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,321
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.68
Uncommon Last name
Titus
An ancient Roman family name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the Latin word for "titan" or "giant."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,358 Americans carry the last name Titus. That puts it at #2,348 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,746 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Titus 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 Titus with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 19,746
Census rank
#2,348
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,137 bearers of the surname Titus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2348th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Titus, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Titus
The surname Titus is of Latin origin and derives from the ancient Roman family name Titus. This name was a common praenomen or personal name given to Roman citizens during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire.
The name Titus likely comes from the Latin word 'titulus' meaning 'title' or 'inscription.' It may have referred to someone who held an honorable title or was highly regarded. Alternate theories suggest it stems from the Latin word 'titus' meaning 'to stretch out' or 'to extend.'
Records of the surname Titus date back to the 1st century AD. One of the earliest known bearers was Titus Flavius Vespasianus, better known as Emperor Titus, who ruled the Roman Empire from 79-81 AD. He is remembered for completing the Colosseum and putting down the Jewish Revolt in Judea.
Another early figure was Titus Livius, a Roman historian who lived from 59 BC to 17 AD. He wrote a seminal work called 'Ab Urbe Condita' which chronicled the history of Rome from its mythological foundation to Livius' own time.
In England, the Titus name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 with records of landowners bearing variations like Tite, Tyet, and Tyting. Some of the earliest places associated with the name include Tittleshall in Norfolk and Titchfield in Hampshire.
Notable people named Titus throughout history include Silius Titus (25-101 AD), a Roman poet and consul; John Titus (1605-1705), an early English Baptist minister; Colonel Titus (1768-1857), a Shawnee chief and leader in the Northwest Indian War; and Titus Salt (1803-1876), an English manufacturer and philanthropist who founded the village of Saltaire.
Overall, the surname Titus has a rich etymological lineage rooted in ancient Roman civilization and culture. It has been borne by figures spanning the realms of politics, literature, warfare, and industry across numerous countries over the past two millennia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Titus
Among Census respondents with the surname Titus, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Titus 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 Titus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.9% · 11,489
- Black or African American12.4% · 1,874
- Two or more races3.8% · 573
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 563
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 437
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 201
Timeline
Historical Census data for Titus
Titus 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
#2,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,780
+459 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 5.35
Rank movement Down 142 places
2020
#2,348
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,137
-643 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 5.06
Rank movement Down 34 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,172 | 15,321 | 5.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,314 | 15,780 | 5.35 | +459 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 142 places |
| 2020 | #2,348 | 15,137 | 5.06 | -643 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 34 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 Titus 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 | #2,314 | #2,348 | -1.5% |
| Count | 15,780 | 15,137 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 5.35 | 5.06 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Titus bearers went from 15,780 to 15,137 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 34 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,314 to #2,348.
FAQ
Titus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Titus?
Name Census estimates that about 17,358 living Americans carry the surname Titus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,746 residents.
How common is Titus?
Titus ranks #2,348 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,137 people with the surname Titus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,358), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Titus.
Has Titus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Titus went from 15,780 recorded bearers to 15,137. That is a decrease of 643 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,314 to #2,348.
What does the Census say about the background of Titus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Titus, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Titus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.9% (11,489 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Titus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.9%), Black (12.4%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Titus (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 Titus mean?
An ancient Roman family name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the Latin word for "titan" or "giant." 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 Titus (5.06 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 Titus?
Want to know how many people have the surname Titus? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.