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

Torrey, 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 Torrey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Torrey in America

Torrey is the 6739th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Torrey surname appeared 5,004 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Torrey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Torrey 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 Torrey

The surname Torrey originated in France and is derived from the Old French word "tor," meaning a hill or a rocky peak. The name is thought to have emerged in the early Middle Ages, around the 9th or 10th century.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the region of Normandy in northern France. The name was likely first adopted by families who lived near or owned land near a prominent hill or rocky outcrop.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Ralf de Torry, who was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This suggests that the Torrey name had already been established in Normandy before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

In the centuries that followed, the Torrey name spread across various parts of Europe, with variations in spelling such as Torry, Torre, and Torrie appearing in different regions. Some notable individuals bearing the name include John Torrey (1796-1873), an American botanist and chemist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in North America, and Raymond Torrey (1887-1962), an American psychologist and educator who was a pioneer in the field of educational psychology.

Other historical figures with the Torrey surname include Samuel Torrey (1631-1707), an English-born Puritan minister who served in Massachusetts and was involved in the Salem witch trials, and Reuben Torrey (1856-1928), an American evangelist and Bible scholar who co-founded the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now Biola University).

The Torrey name has also been associated with several place names, such as Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve in California, named after the Torrey pine tree, which was named after the botanist John Torrey.

Overall, the surname Torrey has a rich history dating back to the Middle Ages in France, and its origins are closely tied to the geographical features of hills and rocky outcrops. Over the centuries, the name has spread across various parts of the world, with notable bearers contributing to fields such as botany, psychology, religion, and education.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Torrey

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

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

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

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