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

Toft, 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 Toft surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Toft in America

Toft is the 19955th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Toft surname appeared 1,344 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 Toft.

We can also compare 2010 data for Toft 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 Toft

The surname TOFT is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English word "toft", meaning a homestead, a piece of ground where a house once stood, or a messuage. It is believed to have originated as a topographic name for someone who lived near or on a site where a building once stood.

TOFT is found predominantly in the northern counties of England, particularly in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire. It is likely that the name arose independently in various locations where people settled on abandoned building sites or homesteads.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name TOFT can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Toftes" in Lincolnshire and Derbyshire. The Domesday Book also mentions a place called "Toft" in Norfolk.

In the 13th century, the name was recorded as "de Toft" in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, indicating that the bearer was from a place called Toft. The "de" prefix denoted a person's place of origin.

Among the notable individuals who bore the surname TOFT throughout history are:

1. Robert Toft (c. 1510-1565), an English Protestant reformer and clergyman who served as the Dean of Worcester Cathedral.

2. Mary Toft (c. 1701-1763), a famous English woman who became notorious for her hoax of giving birth to rabbits in the early 18th century.

3. Edward Toft (1598-1677), an English clergyman and theologian who served as the Rector of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire.

4. John Toft (1649-1720), an English churchman who served as the Bishop of St. David's in Wales.

5. William Toft (c. 1580-1659), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Grimsby in the early 17th century.

The name TOFT is also found in various place names across England, such as Toft Monks in Norfolk, Toft Hill in County Durham, and Toft Green in Cheshire, further reinforcing its connection to abandoned or deserted homesteads.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Toft

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

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

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

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