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

Tonner, 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 Tonner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tonner in America

Tonner is the 50851st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tonner surname appeared 410 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Tonner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tonner 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.

The history of the last name Tonner

The surname Tonner originated in Germany in the late 16th century. It is derived from the German word "tonne" which means barrel or cask. The name likely referred to someone who made or worked with barrels, such as a cooper or barrel maker.

Tonner was initially concentrated in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in church records and municipal documents from these areas during the 17th century.

In the 18th century, the name began to spread to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries like Austria and Switzerland. This was likely due to increased mobility and migration during this period.

One notable early bearer of the name was Johann Tonner, a cooper from Munich who was born in 1723. He is mentioned in records as having supplied barrels to local breweries and wineries.

Another early recorded instance of the name is found in the town of Freiburg, where a family by the name of Tonner is listed in the town's tax records from the year 1678.

As the name spread across Europe, it also took on various spellings and variations. In France, for example, it was sometimes written as "Tonnier" or "Tonnaire".

One of the earliest known bearers of the name in England was a German immigrant named Heinrich Tonner, who settled in London in the early 19th century and worked as a cooper.

Other notable individuals with the surname Tonner include:

1. Philipp Tonner (1789-1857), a German painter and engraver from Nuremberg.
2. Johanna Tonner (1821-1901), an Austrian novelist and poet.
3. Wilhelm Tonner (1875-1936), a German sculptor and medallist.
4. Friedrich Tonner (1892-1963), a German architect and urban planner.
5. Erich Tonner (1919-2008), an Austrian composer and music educator.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tonner

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

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 Tonner was:

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

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

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

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