2000
#12,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,168
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Toll
An occupational surname for a toll collector or gatekeeper.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,252 Americans carry the last name Toll. That puts it at #14,576 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 152,200 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Toll 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Toll with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 152,200
Census rank
#14,576
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,964 bearers of the surname Toll in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14576th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Toll, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Toll
The surname Toll is of Anglo-Saxon origin, arising in England during the medieval period. It is believed to derive from the Old English word "toll", which referred to a tax or payment made for goods passing through a particular area or territory. This suggests the name may have originally been an occupational surname for a toll collector or someone employed in managing tolls.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Toll can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a certain "Toli" holding lands in Warwickshire. This provides evidence that the name was in use in England by the late 11th century.
In the 13th century, records show various spellings of the name, such as "Tolle", "Tol", and "Tolle". These variations likely reflect regional dialects and the evolution of the English language over time. During this period, the name also appeared in documents related to places like Tollerton in Nottinghamshire and Tollesbury in Essex, indicating a possible connection between the surname and these locations.
Notable individuals with the surname Toll throughout history include Sir John Toll (c.1500-1568), an English merchant and member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers. Another prominent figure was Sir Jacob Toll (1685-1748), a Dutch-born British merchant and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for various constituencies.
In the 18th century, the name gained recognition in the literary world with the birth of John Toll (1711-1792), an English playwright and author best known for his works "The Victim" and "The Placid Man". A century later, John Toll (1829-1893), a British artist and engraver, gained acclaim for his intricate woodcut illustrations and engravings.
In more recent times, the name has been carried by individuals such as Sir Richard Toll (1918-2008), a British diplomat and ambassador to various countries, and Peter Toll (1935-2021), an American football player and coach who won two Super Bowl championships as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toll
Among Census respondents with the surname Toll, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Toll 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 Toll surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 1,755
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 103
- Two or more races3.3% · 65
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 18
- Black or African American0.9% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Toll
Toll 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
#13,383
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,276
+108 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 416 places
2020
#14,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,964
-312 bearers (-13.7%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 1,193 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,967 | 2,168 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,383 | 2,276 | 0.77 | +108 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 416 places |
| 2020 | #14,576 | 1,964 | 0.66 | -312 bearers (-13.7%) | Down 1,193 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 Toll 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 | #13,383 | #14,576 | -8.9% |
| Count | 2,276 | 1,964 | -13.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.66 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Toll bearers went from 2,276 to 1,964 (-13.7% change). The surname moved down 1,193 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,383 to #14,576.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Toll
FAQ
Toll surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Toll?
Name Census estimates that about 2,252 living Americans carry the surname Toll. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 152,200 residents.
How common is Toll?
Toll ranks #14,576 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,964 people with the surname Toll. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,252), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Toll.
Has Toll become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Toll went from 2,276 recorded bearers to 1,964. That is a decrease of 312 (-13.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,383 to #14,576.
What does the Census say about the background of Toll?
Among Census respondents with the surname Toll, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Toll in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (1,755 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Toll appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Hispanic (5.2%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Toll (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 Toll mean?
An occupational surname for a toll collector or gatekeeper. 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 Toll (0.66 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 people are called Toll?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Toll at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.