Toney last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Toney

Derived from a place name meaning "from Tonei," referring to someone who lived near a field of hemp plants.

Toney, 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 Toney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Toney in America

Toney is the 1919th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Toney surname appeared 18,787 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Toney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Toney 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 1919 1886 1.73%
Count 18,787 17,481 7.20%
Proportion per 100k 6.37 6.48 -1.71%

The history of the last name Toney

The surname Toney originated in England, with records dating back to the late 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "tun," meaning an enclosed village or settlement. This suggests that the name may have been initially used to identify someone who lived in or came from a particular town or village.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Toney can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from the year 1273, which mentions a person named Richard de Toney. The "de" prefix was commonly used at the time to indicate a person's place of origin or residence.

Another early record of the Toney surname appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Warwickshire from 1332, which lists a John Toney. This suggests that the name had spread to different regions of England by the 14th century.

In the 15th century, the Toney surname appears in various records, including the Yorkshire Chantry Surveys of 1546, which mentions a Thomas Toney. This indicates that the name was well-established in Yorkshire during that period.

Notable individuals with the surname Toney throughout history include:

  1. Sir Nathaniel Toney (1615-1676), an English merchant and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1672.
  2. Elizabeth Toney (1730-1810), an American pioneer and early settler in Kentucky, known for her role in establishing the first permanent settlement in the area.
  3. John Toney (1763-1845), an American farmer and soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
  4. William Toney (1816-1892), an American politician who served as the 14th Governor of South Carolina from 1885 to 1887.
  5. Robert Toney (1855-1932), a British artist known for his landscape paintings and portraiture.

While the Toney surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world through migration and settlement. However, the historical records and references provided here primarily focus on the origin and early occurrences of the name within England and its neighboring regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Toney

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

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 Toney was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 54.98% 10,329
Non-Hispanic Black Only 38.30% 7,195
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.42% 79
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.56% 293
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.79% 524
Hispanic Origin 1.94% 364

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 Toney has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 54.98% 56.94% -3.50%
Black 38.30% 37.84% 1.21%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.42% 0.31% 30.14%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.56% 1.70% -8.59%
Two or More Races 2.79% 1.88% 38.97%
Hispanic 1.94% 1.32% 38.04%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Toney last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 27, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/toney-surname-popularity/.

"Toney last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/toney-surname-popularity/. Accessed 27 July, 2024

Toney last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/toney-surname-popularity/.

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