2010
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Torsney
An English surname derived from a location name denoting someone from a place overgrown with tor brambles.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Torsney. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Torsney 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.
Bearers in the US
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Torsney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Torsney, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Torsney
The surname Torsney is believed to be of Irish origin, with its roots traced back to the early medieval period in Ireland. The name is thought to be derived from the Gaelic word "torsach," which means "militant" or "warlike." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name may have been associated with military or warrior traditions.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Torsney can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The annals mention a Torsney family who resided in County Sligo, Ireland, during the 14th century. This provides evidence of the surname's existence and geographical location during that time period.
In the 16th century, the Torsney name appeared in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, which were records of official documents issued by the English Crown during the reign of the Tudor monarchs. This suggests that the Torsney family had established a presence in Ireland during the Tudor era.
One notable bearer of the Torsney surname was Dermot Torsney, a 17th-century Irish soldier who fought in the Confederate Wars of the 1640s. He was a prominent figure during the Irish Confederate Wars, which were part of the larger Wars of the Three Kingdoms that engulfed the British Isles at that time.
In the 18th century, the name Torsney appeared in various parish records and censuses in counties such as Sligo, Leitrim, and Mayo in Ireland. This indicates the continued presence and spread of the Torsney family across different regions of Ireland during that period.
Another individual of historical significance was Patrick Torsney, who was born in County Sligo in the late 18th century. He was a prominent Irish nationalist and supporter of the United Irishmen, a revolutionary republican movement that sought to establish an independent Irish republic.
As the centuries progressed, the Torsney surname continued to be associated with various notable individuals. In the 19th century, John Torsney (1818-1892) was an Irish-born American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the state of New York.
Throughout its history, the Torsney surname has undergone various spelling variations, including Torsnee, Torsny, and Torsnay. These variations likely emerged due to regional dialects, transcription errors, and the influence of other languages over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Torsney
Among Census respondents with the surname Torsney, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Torsney 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 Torsney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.3% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 8
- Two or more races4.5% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Torsney
Torsney appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+11 bearers (+11.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 12,310 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+11.0%) | Up 12,310 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 Torsney 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 | #160,975 | #148,665 | 7.6% |
| Count | 100 | 111 | 11.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 23.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Torsney bearers went from 100 to 111 (+11.0% change). The surname moved up 12,310 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #148,665.
FAQ
Torsney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Torsney?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Torsney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Torsney?
Torsney ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Torsney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Torsney.
Has Torsney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Torsney went from 100 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 11 (+11.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Torsney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Torsney, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.2%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Torsney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Torsney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.3%), Hispanic (7.2%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Torsney (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 Torsney mean?
An English surname derived from a location name denoting someone from a place overgrown with tor brambles. 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 Torsney (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Torsney?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.