2000
#1,385
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,468
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.70
Uncommon Last name
Tompkins
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Thomas, meaning "son of Thomas."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 26,242 Americans carry the last name Tompkins. That puts it at #1,521 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,061 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tompkins 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 Tompkins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
26K
1 in 13,061
Census rank
#1,521
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 22,884 bearers of the surname Tompkins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1521st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tompkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tompkins
The surname Tompkins originates from England and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English personal name "Thomlin," a diminutive form of Thomas, combined with the possessive suffix "kin," meaning "kin of." The name essentially translates to "son or descendant of little Thomas."
Tompkins is believed to have originated in the Cambridgeshire area of England, where it was first recorded in the Hundred Rolls of 1273 as "Thomelyn." Over the centuries, various spellings emerged, including Thomlynkyn, Tomlynkyn, Tommelyn, and Tompkins.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, which mention a John Thomlynkyn. In the 14th century, the name also appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Suffolk, with references to a Richard Thomelyn in 1381.
The surname Tompkins has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest was Sir Roger Tompkins (c. 1535-1613), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Bodmin in Cornwall during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I.
Another prominent individual was Daniel D. Tompkins (1774-1825), an American lawyer, politician, and the sixth Vice President of the United States, serving under James Monroe from 1817 to 1825.
In the literary world, Calvin Tompkins (1925-2016) was an American author and journalist known for his biographies of artists such as Marcel Duchamp and his work as a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine.
Kiry Tompkins Wadsworth (1834-1914) was an American philanthropist and activist who played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement and the establishment of the International Institute for Girls in Spain.
Lastly, Robert Tompkins (1570-1644) was an English scholar and theologian who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and published several notable works on theology and philosophy.
While the surname Tompkins has roots in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with notable bearers of the name contributing to various fields throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tompkins
Among Census respondents with the surname Tompkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Tompkins 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 Tompkins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.3% · 18,611
- Black or African American10.1% · 2,316
- Two or more races3.8% · 871
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 793
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 175
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 118
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tompkins
Tompkins 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
#1,485
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,056
+588 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 8.16
Rank movement Down 100 places
2020
#1,521
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,884
-1,172 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 7.66
Rank movement Down 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,385 | 23,468 | 8.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,485 | 24,056 | 8.16 | +588 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 100 places |
| 2020 | #1,521 | 22,884 | 7.66 | -1,172 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 36 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 Tompkins 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 | #1,485 | #1,521 | -2.4% |
| Count | 24,056 | 22,884 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 8.16 | 7.66 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tompkins bearers went from 24,056 to 22,884 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,485 to #1,521.
FAQ
Tompkins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tompkins?
Name Census estimates that about 26,242 living Americans carry the surname Tompkins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,061 residents.
How common is Tompkins?
Tompkins ranks #1,521 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 22,884 people with the surname Tompkins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (26,242), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Tompkins.
Has Tompkins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tompkins went from 24,056 recorded bearers to 22,884. That is a decrease of 1,172 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,485 to #1,521.
What does the Census say about the background of Tompkins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tompkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Tompkins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.3% (18,611 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tompkins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.3%), Black (10.1%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Tompkins (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 Tompkins mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Thomas, meaning "son of Thomas." 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 Tompkins (7.66 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 have the last name Tompkins?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Tompkins at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.