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

Toliver, 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 Toliver surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Toliver in America

Toliver is the 4708th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Toliver surname appeared 7,536 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Toliver.

We can also compare 2010 data for Toliver 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 Toliver

The surname Toliver has its origins in England, emerging in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Old English words "tol," meaning tax or toll, and "hfer," meaning heaver or bearer. The name likely referred to an occupation associated with collecting tolls or taxes.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Lay Subsidy Rolls for Warwickshire in 1332, where a John Tollyver is mentioned. This suggests the name was already in use by the early 14th century in the Midlands region of England.

In the 15th century, variants of the name such as Tolyfer and Toliver crop up in various historical records across England, including parish registers and court rolls. Notable individuals from this era include William Toliver, a merchant from Bristol recorded in 1472, and John Tolyver, a landowner in Oxfordshire mentioned in a deed from 1487.

As the name spread and became more established, it experienced various spelling variations, including Toliver, Tolliver, Tolyver, and Tolivar. These variations likely arose due to regional pronunciations and the inconsistencies of spelling conventions in earlier centuries.

One notable early bearer of the name was Sir Samuel Toliver (1603-1671), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Great Bedwyn during the Commonwealth period. He was a supporter of Oliver Cromwell and played a role in the English Civil War.

In the 18th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of William Toliver (1740-1819), a renowned English engraver and printmaker who produced intricate illustrations for various publications, including works by Shakespeare and Milton.

Another notable figure was James Toliver (1782-1857), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and later became an influential figure in maritime affairs, publishing several works on navigation and nautical subjects.

As the name spread beyond England, it also took root in other parts of the British Isles and later in British colonies. For instance, John Toliver (1820-1891) was a Scottish-born artist who emigrated to Canada and became known for his landscape paintings depicting the rugged beauty of the Canadian wilderness.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the 1790 census, where a Toliver family is listed as residing in Virginia. This likely reflects the movement of English settlers to the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Toliver

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

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

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

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