2000
#5,090
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,328
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.35
Rare Last name
Toole
An Irish occupational surname referring to a person who was a tool maker or seller.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,938 Americans carry the last name Toole. That puts it at #5,552 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 49,402 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Toole 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 Toole with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.9K
1 in 49,402
Census rank
#5,552
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,050 bearers of the surname Toole in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5552nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Toole, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Toole
The surname TOOLE is of Irish origin and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic word "tuathalach," meaning "territorial" or "having land." The name likely originated as a descriptive term for someone who owned or occupied a particular territory or land area.
In early Irish records and manuscripts, the name is found spelled in various ways, such as "O'Tuathalain," "O'Tuathail," and "Tuathal." These spellings reflect the patronymic prefix "O," which means "descendant of," and the various spelling variations that were common in those times.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name TOOLE is found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In 1167, it mentions a man named Tuathal O'Tuathail, who was the Lord of Fermanagh, a county in Ulster, Northern Ireland.
During the Middle Ages, the TOOLE family held lands in County Fermanagh and County Cavan, and they were influential members of the Gaelic nobility in those regions. Some notable individuals from this period include Donnell O'Toole, who was the King of Leinster in the late 12th century, and Loughlin O'Toole, who was the Archbishop of Dublin in the early 13th century.
As the name spread across Ireland, it also evolved into various anglicized spellings, such as "Toole," "Toohill," and "Toohey." One of the earliest recorded instances of the modern spelling "TOOLE" can be found in the Fiants of Elizabeth I, a collection of official documents from the late 16th century, which mentions a man named John Toole.
Notable individuals with the surname TOOLE include:
1. John Toole (1832-1906), an English actor and comedian known for his performances in pantomimes and farces.
2. James Toole (1819-1867), an Irish-American politician who served as the 59th Mayor of New York City.
3. Maureen Toole (1945-2021), an American author and journalist who wrote several novels and non-fiction books.
4. John Toole (1905-1995), an American baseball player who played for the Boston Red Sox in the 1930s.
5. James Toole (1943-2022), an American neuroscientist and stroke researcher who made significant contributions to understanding the prevention and treatment of strokes.
While the TOOLE surname has its roots in Ireland, it has since spread worldwide through immigration and has been adopted by people of various backgrounds and nationalities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toole
Among Census respondents with the surname Toole, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Toole 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 Toole surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.0% · 5,081
- Black or African American9.0% · 542
- Two or more races3.3% · 200
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 177
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Toole
Toole 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
#5,331
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,534
+206 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 2.22
Rank movement Down 241 places
2020
#5,552
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,050
-484 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 2.02
Rank movement Down 221 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,090 | 6,328 | 2.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,331 | 6,534 | 2.22 | +206 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 241 places |
| 2020 | #5,552 | 6,050 | 2.02 | -484 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 221 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 Toole 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 | #5,331 | #5,552 | -4.1% |
| Count | 6,534 | 6,050 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.22 | 2.02 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Toole bearers went from 6,534 to 6,050 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 221 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,331 to #5,552.
FAQ
Toole surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Toole?
Name Census estimates that about 6,938 living Americans carry the surname Toole. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 49,402 residents.
How common is Toole?
Toole ranks #5,552 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,050 people with the surname Toole. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,938), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Toole.
Has Toole become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Toole went from 6,534 recorded bearers to 6,050. That is a decrease of 484 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,331 to #5,552.
What does the Census say about the background of Toole?
Among Census respondents with the surname Toole, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Toole in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.0% (5,081 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Toole appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.0%), Black (9.0%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Toole (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 Toole mean?
An Irish occupational surname referring to a person who was a tool maker or seller. 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 Toole (2.02 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 common is the surname Toole?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Toole at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.