2000
#6,627
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,709
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.75
Rare Last name
Toombs
An English occupational surname referring to a tomb maker or a person who lived near tombs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,290 Americans carry the last name Toombs. That puts it at #7,020 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 64,793 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Toombs 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 Toombs with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.3K
1 in 64,793
Census rank
#7,020
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,613 bearers of the surname Toombs in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7020th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Toombs, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.7%. The next largest groups are Black (26.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Toombs
The surname Toombs is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "tun" meaning an enclosure or a village. It is believed to have originated in the 12th or 13th century in various parts of England, particularly in areas like Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Toombs can be found in medieval documents and records, such as the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the late 12th century, where it appears as "de Toumbes" or "de Toumes." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or owned a specific village or settlement.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several entries that may be related to the Toombs surname, such as "Tomes" and "Tumes." However, these entries are subject to interpretation and may not directly correspond to the modern spelling of the name.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Toombs was Sir Richard de Tomes, a knight who lived in the 13th century and was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1273. Another notable individual was John Toombs, who was born in 1603 in Lincolnshire and later became a prominent merchant and landowner in colonial Virginia in the mid-17th century.
Other historical figures with the surname Toombs include Robert Toombs (1810-1885), an American politician and prominent figure in the Confederacy during the American Civil War. He served as the first Secretary of State for the Confederate States of America. Additionally, there was Sir Walter Toombs (1870-1941), a British businessman and philanthropist who was knighted for his charitable works.
In the realm of literature, the name Toombs is associated with Robert Toombs Hoke (1905-1969), an American author and journalist who wrote several novels and short stories set in the American South. Lastly, James Toombs (1909-1989) was a British sculptor and artist known for his monumental public artworks and sculptures.
The Toombs surname has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Tombs, Tomes, Toomes, and Tooms, reflecting the diverse regional dialects and interpretations of the name's origins. Despite these variations, the core meaning and significance of the surname as an indicator of place or geographic origin has remained consistent throughout its history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toombs
Among Census respondents with the surname Toombs, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.7%. The next largest groups are Black (26.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Toombs 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 Toombs surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.7% · 2,938
- Black or African American26.6% · 1,229
- Two or more races4.6% · 210
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 199
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Toombs
Toombs 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
#6,977
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,806
+97 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.63
Rank movement Down 350 places
2020
#7,020
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,613
-193 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.54
Rank movement Down 43 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,627 | 4,709 | 1.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,977 | 4,806 | 1.63 | +97 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 350 places |
| 2020 | #7,020 | 4,613 | 1.54 | -193 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 43 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 Toombs 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 | #6,977 | #7,020 | -0.6% |
| Count | 4,806 | 4,613 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.63 | 1.54 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Toombs bearers went from 4,806 to 4,613 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 43 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,977 to #7,020.
FAQ
Toombs surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Toombs?
Name Census estimates that about 5,290 living Americans carry the surname Toombs. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 64,793 residents.
How common is Toombs?
Toombs ranks #7,020 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.54 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 4,613 people with the surname Toombs. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,290), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.54 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 Toombs.
Has Toombs become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Toombs went from 4,806 recorded bearers to 4,613. That is a decrease of 193 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,977 to #7,020.
What does the Census say about the background of Toombs?
Among Census respondents with the surname Toombs, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.7%. The next largest groups are Black (26.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Toombs in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.7% (2,938 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Toombs appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.7%), Black (26.6%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Toombs (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 Toombs mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a tomb maker or a person who lived near tombs. 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 Toombs (1.54 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 surname Toombs?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.