2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Toepp
A surname derived from an occupational name for someone who made toe caps.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Toepp. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Toepp 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Toepp in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Toepp, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Toepp
The surname TOEPP has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "toppe," which referred to a small hill or mound, suggesting that the name may have initially been a descriptive reference to someone living near or on a hill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Toepp was documented as a resident in the year 1583. This provides evidence of the surname's existence and usage during the late 16th century in Germany.
In the 17th century, the TOEPP name appeared in various church records and census documents across regions such as Bavaria and Saxony. A notable individual from this period was Johann Toepp, a prominent merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Erfurt from 1642 to 1712.
As the surname spread across German-speaking regions, variations in spelling emerged, including Töpp, Töpf, and Töppfer. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and differences in pronunciation and orthography.
During the 18th century, the TOEPP surname gained recognition through the works of the German philosopher and theologian Johann Friedrich Toepp (1719-1788). His influential writings on ethics and morality contributed to the intellectual discourse of the Enlightenment era.
Another notable figure bearing the TOEPP name was Katharina Toepp (1781-1856), a renowned educator and advocate for women's education in Prussia. Her efforts to establish schools for girls in Berlin and other cities left a lasting impact on the educational landscape of the time.
As German immigrants began to settle in other parts of Europe and the Americas in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the TOEPP surname traveled with them. One such individual was Heinrich Toepp (1826-1892), a German-American brewer who founded the Toepp Brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio, which became a successful and influential brewery in the region.
In the field of science, the name TOEPP is associated with the German botanist and explorer Eduard Toepp (1854-1923), who conducted extensive research on the flora and fauna of South America, particularly in Brazil and Paraguay. His contributions to the study of plant life in these regions are well-documented in his scientific publications.
While the surname TOEPP may have evolved and spread across different regions and cultures, its origins can be traced back to the German-speaking lands, where it first emerged as a descriptive name reflecting the landscape and geography of the areas where its earliest bearers lived.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toepp
Among Census respondents with the surname Toepp, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Toepp 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 Toepp surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.3% · 110
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Toepp
Toepp 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+8 bearers (+8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,096 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+5 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,311 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+8.0%) | Down 1,096 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.6%) | Up 4,311 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 Toepp 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 | #151,532 | #147,221 | 2.8% |
| Count | 108 | 113 | 4.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Toepp bearers went from 108 to 113 (+4.6% change). The surname moved up 4,311 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #147,221.
FAQ
Toepp surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Toepp?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Toepp. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Toepp?
Toepp ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Toepp. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Toepp.
Has Toepp become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Toepp went from 108 recorded bearers to 113. That is an increase of 5 (+4.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Toepp?
Among Census respondents with the surname Toepp, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Toepp in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Toepp appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.3%), Black (0.9%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Toepp (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 Toepp mean?
A surname derived from an occupational name for someone who made toe caps. 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 Toepp (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 Americans have the surname Toepp?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.