2010
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tomov
A surname of Bulgarian origin, derived from the given name "Toma".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Tomov. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tomov 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Tomov in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tomov, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Black (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tomov
The surname TOMOV is of Bulgarian origin, with roots tracing back to the medieval period of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396). It is believed to have derived from the Slavic masculine given name Toma, itself a derivative of the Biblical name Thomas, meaning "twin" in Aramaic.
In the early days of the Second Bulgarian Empire, surnames were not widely used, with most people identified by their given name and patronymic. However, as the empire grew and society became more stratified, the need for distinct family names arose, particularly among the nobility and affluent classes. TOMOV likely emerged as a patronymic surname, denoting "son of Toma."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the TOMOV surname can be found in the Tarnovo Inscription, a famous medieval inscription from the 14th century, which mentions a certain "Tomov the Meek." This inscription, located in the former Bulgarian capital of Tarnovo, provides valuable insight into the use of surnames during that era.
In the 15th century, as the Ottoman Empire extended its influence over the Balkans, the TOMOV surname continued to be used by Bulgarians, although its orthography may have been influenced by Turkish and other languages. During this period, the surname was sometimes spelled "Tomoff" or "Tomof" in various historical records and manuscripts.
Notable individuals bearing the TOMOV surname include:
1. Vasil Tomov (1775-1858), a prominent Bulgarian revolutionary and one of the leaders of the Velchova Conspiracy against Ottoman rule in the early 19th century.
2. Nikola Tomov (1834-1919), a Bulgarian painter and one of the founders of the modern Bulgarian art movement.
3. Ivan Tomov (1891-1944), a Bulgarian military officer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 1944 to 1944.
4. Dimitar Tomov (1922-2003), a renowned Bulgarian chess player and grandmaster, widely regarded as one of the strongest players of his generation.
5. Veselin Tomov (born 1961), a distinguished Bulgarian mathematician and computer scientist, known for his contributions to computational geometry and algorithm analysis.
Throughout its long history, the TOMOV surname has been associated with various place names and localities within Bulgaria, reflecting the geographical spread of families bearing this name. Some examples include the villages of Tomovtsi and Tomovets, which likely derived their names from early TOMOV settlers or landowners in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tomov
Among Census respondents with the surname Tomov, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Black (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Tomov 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 Tomov surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 4
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tomov
Tomov appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+2 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 680 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 680 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 Tomov 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 | #142,108 | #142,788 | -0.5% |
| Count | 117 | 119 | 1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tomov bearers went from 117 to 119 (+1.7% change). The surname moved down 680 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #142,788.
FAQ
Tomov surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tomov?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Tomov. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Tomov?
Tomov ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 119 people with the surname Tomov. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Tomov.
Has Tomov become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tomov went from 117 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 2 (+1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Tomov?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tomov, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Tomov in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tomov appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%), Black (1.7%). 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 Tomov (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 Tomov mean?
A surname of Bulgarian origin, derived from the given name "Toma". 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 Tomov (0.04 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 have the last name Tomov?
You can see how many people are called Tomov on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.