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

Toala, 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 Toala surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Toala in America

Toala is the 61436th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Toala surname appeared 327 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Toala.

We can also compare 2010 data for Toala 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 Toala

The surname TOALA is believed to have originated in the Gambia region of West Africa during the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Mandinka word "toala" which means "trader" or "merchant". This reflects the history of the region as an important center for the trade of goods such as gold, salt, and ivory.

Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name TOALA can be found in Portuguese and Dutch trading records from the 16th and 17th centuries, when European merchants were active in the region. The name was often spelled in various ways, such as "Toalay" or "Tualah", reflecting the phonetic transcription from local languages.

In the late 18th century, a man named Kunta Kinte, whose surname was TOALA, was captured and sold into slavery in the British colonies of North America. His story was famously recounted in the novel and TV series "Roots" by Alex Haley, bringing attention to the African origins of many African American surnames.

Notable individuals with the surname TOALA include Samba Toala (c. 1790-1860), a prominent West African trader and diplomat who facilitated relationships between local rulers and European merchants. Another was Mariama Bâ (1929-1981), a Senegalese writer and feminist pioneer whose works explored the challenges faced by women in traditional Wolof society.

Lamin Toala (1952-2018) was a Gambian politician and diplomat who served as his country's Ambassador to several nations, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Fatou Toala (born 1971) is a Gambian author and activist who has written extensively on issues of gender equality and women's empowerment in West Africa.

Ousmane Toala (1935-2002) was a renowned historian and scholar from Mali, whose research focused on the rich cultural heritage of the Mali Empire and its impact on the broader West African region. His works helped to preserve and promote an understanding of the region's complex history and traditions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Toala

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

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

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

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