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

Tottress, 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 Tottress surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tottress in America

Tottress is the 130610th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tottress surname appeared 130 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 Tottress.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tottress 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 Tottress

The surname TOTTRESS originates from England, with records dating back to the late 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "totter," which means "to sway or shake." This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for someone who worked as a cloth dyer or bleacher, as their job involved agitating and swaying fabric in liquid dyes.

One of the earliest known references to the TOTTRESS name can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, where a John Tottress was recorded in 1592. In the same county, a Thomas Tottress was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of 1624 for the village of Stowlangtoft.

During the 17th century, the name appeared in various parts of East Anglia, including Norfolk and Essex. In the Hearth Tax Returns of 1674 for the village of Great Sampford in Essex, a William Tottress is listed as a householder. Additionally, the TOTTRESS name can be found in the parish records of Sudbury, Suffolk, where a Mary Tottress was baptized in 1685.

One notable individual bearing the TOTTRESS surname was John Tottress, a merchant and landowner from Ipswich, Suffolk, who lived from 1638 to 1702. He is mentioned in several historical documents related to land transactions and business dealings in the Ipswich area.

Another individual of note was Sarah Tottress, born in 1712 in Weston, Norfolk. She married a man named William Kett, and their descendants can be traced through various parish records in the region.

In the 18th century, the TOTTRESS name continued to be found in East Anglia, particularly in Suffolk and Norfolk. For example, a Robert Tottress was recorded in the parish registers of Worlington, Suffolk, in 1744, and a Mary Tottress was baptized in Buxton, Norfolk, in 1771.

One interesting historical reference comes from the village of Shadingfield, Suffolk, where a local legend tells of a ghost known as the "Tottress Tump." According to the story, a woman named Mary Tottress was wrongfully accused of witchcraft in the 17th century and buried alive in a field, with a small mound (or "tump") marking her grave. Her restless spirit is said to haunt the area to this day.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tottress

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

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

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

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