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

Toch, 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 Toch surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Toch in America

Toch is the 97210th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Toch surname appeared 187 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 Toch.

We can also compare 2010 data for Toch 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 Toch

The surname TOCH is believed to have originated in Germany, likely during the Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "toc," which means "mischievous" or "playful." This suggests that the name may have been given as a descriptive nickname to someone with a mischievous or playful demeanor.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the TOCH name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the German city of Cologne, dating back to the 13th century. In this document, a certain "Johannes Toch" is mentioned as a witness to a legal transaction.

The TOCH name also appears in several other historical records from various regions of Germany, such as the Hofstätterbuch, a register of landowners and tenants from the 15th century in the city of Nuremberg. This suggests that the name had spread across different parts of Germany by that time.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the TOCH surname was Johannes Toch, a German mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1512 to 1584. He is credited with making significant contributions to the study of trigonometry and celestial mechanics.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Amalie Toch, a German-American writer and poet who lived from 1887 to 1957. She was known for her works exploring themes of identity, feminism, and the experiences of immigrants in America.

During the 17th century, the TOCH name can be found in records from the town of Torgau, located in the state of Saxony, Germany. One particular individual, Hans Toch, born in 1632, is mentioned in the local church registers as a member of the town council.

In the 19th century, a notable bearer of the TOCH surname was Ernst Toch, a German-Austrian composer who lived from 1887 to 1964. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern classical music and is known for his innovative compositions that blended traditional and avant-garde styles.

While the TOCH name originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, likely due to immigration patterns over the centuries. However, its roots can be traced back to the Old German language and the descriptive nickname given to an ancestor with a mischievous or playful personality.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Toch

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!