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

Toews, 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 Toews surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Toews in America

Toews is the 18808th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Toews surname appeared 1,456 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 Toews.

We can also compare 2010 data for Toews 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 Toews

The surname TOEWS has its origin in the Low German language, which was spoken in many parts of northern Germany and the Netherlands during the Middle Ages. The name is thought to derive from the Low German word "touw," meaning "rope" or "cord." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked with ropes or cords, such as a rope maker or sailor.

The earliest recorded instances of the name TOEWS can be found in church records and municipal documents from the 16th and 17th centuries in the region of West Prussia, which is now part of modern-day Poland. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Toews, who was born in Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland) in 1587.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, many families with the surname TOEWS migrated from West Prussia to Russia, where they established communities in the region of Ukraine. One notable member of this group was Johann Toews, who was born in the village of Chortitza, Ukraine, in 1792 and became a prominent leader in the Mennonite community there.

The TOEWS surname also spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and Switzerland. In the 19th century, some families with the name emigrated from these regions to North America, settling in areas such as Ontario, Canada, and various states in the United States.

Among the notable individuals with the surname TOEWS throughout history are:

1. Gerhard Toews (1835-1912), a Russian-born Mennonite leader and author who wrote extensively about the history and culture of the Mennonite community in Russia.

2. Peter Toews (1841-1922), a Mennonite minister and leader who played a key role in the migration of Mennonites from Russia to North America in the late 19th century.

3. Johann Toews (1873-1944), a Russian-born Mennonite minister and educator who served as the first president of the Mennonite Educational Institute in Gretna, Manitoba, Canada.

4. Cornelius Toews (1890-1963), a Canadian politician and businessman who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

5. Jonathan Toews (born 1988), a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League.

While the surname TOEWS has its roots in Low German-speaking regions of Europe, it has since spread around the world and is now found in various countries, particularly those with significant Mennonite or German-speaking populations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Toews

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

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

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

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