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

Tonnu, 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 Tonnu surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tonnu in America

Tonnu is the 41959th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tonnu surname appeared 518 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 Tonnu.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tonnu 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 Tonnu

The surname TONNU has its origins in the northern Indian state of Punjab. It is believed to have emerged in the 16th century during the reign of the Mughal Empire. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "tunnu," which means "small" or "tiny," and was likely initially used as a nickname for someone of short stature.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name TONNU can be found in the Persian chronicles of Akbar, the third Mughal emperor, who ruled from 1556 to 1605. These chronicles mention a soldier named Tonnu Khan, who served in the imperial army and was praised for his bravery and loyalty.

In the 17th century, the name TONNU began to appear in various administrative records and land ownership documents in the Punjab region. One notable example is a land grant issued by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1632 to a family with the surname TONNU in the village of Tonnu Majra, located in what is now the Ludhiana district of Punjab.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the TONNU surname gained prominence among the Sikh community in Punjab. Several influential Sikh warriors and leaders bore this name, including Baba Deep Singh Tonnu (1682-1757), a revered Sikh martyr who fought against the Afghan invaders, and Bhai Maharaj Singh Tonnu (1780-1848), a renowned Sikh scholar and poet.

Other notable individuals with the TONNU surname include:

1. Gurbachan Singh Tonnu (1914-1986), a prominent Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress party.
2. Pritam Singh Tonnu (1922-2009), an acclaimed Punjabi writer and recipient of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award.
3. Gurmukh Singh Tonnu (1923-2008), a highly respected Sikh theologian and author of several books on Sikhism.
4. Jagtar Singh Tonnu (1935-2017), a pioneering Punjabi film director and screenwriter who helped shape the early years of Punjabi cinema.
5. Ajaypal Singh Tonnu (born 1952), a former Indian cricketer who played domestic cricket for Punjab and Services.

While the TONNU surname has its roots in Punjab, it has since spread to other parts of India and even abroad, particularly among the Sikh diaspora communities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tonnu

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!