2000
#13,173
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,127
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Tollison
A surname of English origin, derived from a place name meaning "Toll's son" or "son of Toll."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,355 Americans carry the last name Tollison. That puts it at #14,048 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 145,543 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tollison 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
2.4K
1 in 145,543
Census rank
#14,048
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,054 bearers of the surname Tollison in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14048th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tollison, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tollison
The surname Tollison has its origins in England, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have originated from the Old English word "tol," meaning tax or toll, combined with the suffix "-son," indicating a patronymic name. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who was a toll collector or worked in a profession related to taxes or tolls.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tollison can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1275, where a person named William Tolleson is mentioned. This spelling variation, Tolleson, further reinforces the connection to the Old English word "tol."
In the 14th century, the name appeared in the Court Rolls of Warwickshire, where a person named John Tollesone was mentioned in 1342. This spelling, Tollesone, is another variation that highlights the evolution of the name over time.
During the 16th century, the Tollison surname can be found in various records, such as the Parish Registers of Oxfordshire, where a marriage between Thomas Tollison and Agnes Browne was recorded in 1558.
One notable individual with the surname Tollison was Sir Richard Tollison, who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was a prominent landowner and Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire in 1601. Another individual of note was John Tollison, born in 1652, who was a respected scholar and author of several theological works.
In the 18th century, the name Tollison appeared in various parish records across England, including the baptismal record of William Tollison in the Parish Registers of Hertfordshire in 1725.
In more recent times, the Tollison surname has been carried by several individuals of note, such as the American writer and academic Derrick Tollison, born in 1947, and the American football player and coach Jim Tollison, born in 1933 and died in 2022.
Overall, the surname Tollison has a long and rich history in England, with its origins dating back to the 13th century and its association with the Old English word "tol" and the profession of toll collecting or tax-related occupations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tollison
Among Census respondents with the surname Tollison, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Tollison 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 Tollison surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 1,857
- Two or more races4.1% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 49
- Black or African American1.4% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tollison
Tollison 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
#13,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,319
+192 bearers (+9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 11 places
2020
#14,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,054
-265 bearers (-11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 864 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,173 | 2,127 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,184 | 2,319 | 0.79 | +192 bearers (+9.0%) | Down 11 places |
| 2020 | #14,048 | 2,054 | 0.69 | -265 bearers (-11.4%) | Down 864 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 Tollison 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 | #13,184 | #14,048 | -6.6% |
| Count | 2,319 | 2,054 | -11.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.69 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tollison bearers went from 2,319 to 2,054 (-11.4% change). The surname moved down 864 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,184 to #14,048.
FAQ
Tollison surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tollison?
Name Census estimates that about 2,355 living Americans carry the surname Tollison. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 145,543 residents.
How common is Tollison?
Tollison ranks #14,048 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 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 2,054 people with the surname Tollison. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,355), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 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 Tollison.
Has Tollison become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tollison went from 2,319 recorded bearers to 2,054. That is a decrease of 265 (-11.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,184 to #14,048.
What does the Census say about the background of Tollison?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tollison, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Tollison in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (1,857 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tollison appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Tollison (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 Tollison mean?
A surname of English origin, derived from a place name meaning "Toll's son" or "son of Toll." 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 Tollison (0.69 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 share the surname Tollison?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.