2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tode
A surname derived from a pet form of the German personal name Theoderic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Tode. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tode 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Tode in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tode, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.0%) and Black (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tode
The surname Tode is believed to have originated in England and Germany during the medieval period. In England, it is derived from the Old English word "tode," which means "toad." This suggests that the name may have been initially used as a nickname for someone who resembled a toad or had a connection with these amphibians.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Tode can be traced back to the 13th century in various English records and manuscripts. For example, a certain Roger Tode is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1230. Additionally, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include an entry for a William Tode from Norfolk.
In Germany, the surname Tode is believed to have originated from the German word "Tod," which means "death." It was likely used as a surname for individuals associated with death-related professions, such as gravediggers or executioners. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Tode in Germany date back to the 14th century.
One notable bearer of the surname Tode was Sir Thomas Tode, an English politician and landowner who lived from 1430 to 1495. He served as a Member of Parliament for Somerset and held significant estates in that county.
Another individual with the surname Tode was John Tode, a 16th-century English poet and playwright. Although not much is known about his life, some of his works, such as "The Pleasant Historie of the Two Angry Women of Abington," have survived.
In the 17th century, a Dutch cartographer named Joannes Tode created several maps of the East Indies and other parts of the world. His work contributed significantly to the advancement of cartography during that era.
Moving to the 18th century, Johann Clemens Tode was a German botanist and mycologist born in 1733. He made significant contributions to the study of fungi and published several works, including "Fungi Mecklenburgenses Selecti" (Selected Fungi of Mecklenburg).
In the 19th century, Johann Tode, a German painter and engraver, gained recognition for his landscape paintings and etchings depicting scenes from his native region of Westphalia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tode
Among Census respondents with the surname Tode, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.0%) and Black (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Tode 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 Tode surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.0% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino11.0% · 11
- Black or African American4.0% · 4
- Two or more races4.0% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tode
Tode appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-6 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 1,913 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 1,913 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 Tode 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 | #153,769 | #155,682 | -1.2% |
| Count | 106 | 100 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tode bearers went from 106 to 100 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 1,913 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #155,682.
FAQ
Tode surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tode?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Tode. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Tode?
Tode ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 100 people with the surname Tode. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Tode.
Has Tode become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tode went from 106 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #153,769 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Tode?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tode, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.0%) and Black (4.0%). 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 Tode in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.0% (79 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tode appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.0%), Hispanic (11.0%), Black (4.0%). 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 Tode (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 Tode mean?
A surname derived from a pet form of the German personal name Theoderic. 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 Tode (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Tode?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.