2000
#10,004
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,972
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.10
Rare Last name
Toups
A French occupational surname referring to someone who shears wool or makes woolen clothes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,308 Americans carry the last name Toups. That puts it at #10,598 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.97 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 103,614 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Toups 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
3.3K
1 in 103,614
Census rank
#10,598
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,885 bearers of the surname Toups in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.97 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10598th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Toups, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Toups
The surname Toups has its origins in France, traced back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Old French word "toupet," meaning a topknot or tuft of hair on top of the head. This name likely originated as a nickname for someone with a distinctive hairstyle or a prominent tuft of hair.
Toups is a variant spelling of the French surname Toupet, which can be found in historical records from various regions of France, particularly in the northern and western areas. The earliest known recorded instance of the name Toups dates back to 1598 in the parish records of Normandy.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Toups surname appeared in various documents and records from different parts of France. Notable examples include Jacques Toups (1623-1692), a merchant from Rouen, and Marie Toups (1675-1748), a landowner in the Pays de la Loire region.
The Toups surname also found its way to the French colonies, particularly in North America. One of the earliest recorded instances was Pierre Toups (1712-1786), a French immigrant who settled in Louisiana in the mid-18th century and became a prominent figure in the early development of the region.
Another notable figure with the Toups surname was Jean-Baptiste Toups (1745-1823), a French-Canadian fur trader and explorer who was active in the Great Lakes region and the American Northwest during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
In the 19th century, the Toups surname gained prominence in the United States, particularly in Louisiana and other parts of the American South. Louis Toups (1825-1902), a wealthy plantation owner and businessman from St. James Parish, Louisiana, was a prominent figure during this time.
Other noteworthy individuals with the Toups surname include Pierre Toups (1867-1939), a French-American architect and designer based in New Orleans, and Marie-Antoinette Toups (1873-1947), a French-Canadian author and poet who wrote extensively about the Acadian culture and traditions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toups
Among Census respondents with the surname Toups, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Toups 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 Toups surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 2,615
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 100
- Two or more races3.1% · 90
- Black or African American1.4% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Toups
Toups 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
#10,641
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,008
+36 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Down 637 places
2020
#10,598
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,885
-123 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.97
Rank movement Up 43 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,004 | 2,972 | 1.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,641 | 3,008 | 1.02 | +36 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 637 places |
| 2020 | #10,598 | 2,885 | 0.97 | -123 bearers (-4.1%) | Up 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 Toups 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 | #10,641 | #10,598 | 0.4% |
| Count | 3,008 | 2,885 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.02 | 0.97 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Toups bearers went from 3,008 to 2,885 (-4.1% change). The surname moved up 43 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,641 to #10,598.
FAQ
Toups surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Toups?
Name Census estimates that about 3,308 living Americans carry the surname Toups. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 103,614 residents.
How common is Toups?
Toups ranks #10,598 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.97 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,885 people with the surname Toups. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,308), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.97 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.97 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Toups.
Has Toups become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Toups went from 3,008 recorded bearers to 2,885. That is a decrease of 123 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,641 to #10,598.
What does the Census say about the background of Toups?
Among Census respondents with the surname Toups, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Toups in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (2,615 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Toups appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Toups (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 Toups mean?
A French occupational surname referring to someone who shears wool or makes woolen clothes. 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 Toups (0.97 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 last name Toups?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Toups on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.