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

Tower, 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 Tower surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tower in America

Tower is the 7421st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tower surname appeared 4,486 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 Tower.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tower 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 Tower

The surname Tower originated in England, first appearing in records from the early 12th century. It derives from the Old English word "torr", meaning a tower or rocky peak. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a prominent tower or fortification.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Robert atte Toure, recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Sussex in 1199. The "atte" prefix indicated the person lived near or at the specified location. Over time, the spelling evolved from atte Toure to Tower.

The Tower surname is found in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, compiled for William the Conqueror. It records a landowner named Richard de la Tur in Staffordshire. This early spelling variation highlights the name's Norman French influence after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

In the 13th century, the name appeared as de la Tour in various records across England. This French version likely referred to individuals who lived near a prominent tower or castle. Examples include Walter de la Tour in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1230 and Robert de la Tour in the Hundred Rolls of Buckinghamshire in 1274.

One of the earliest notable figures with the Tower surname was Sir John Tower, born around 1510 in Hingham, Norfolk. He served as a Member of Parliament and Lieutenant of the Tower of London under Queen Elizabeth I.

Another prominent individual was Christopher Tower (1589-1659), an English-born officer who served in the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War. He rose to the rank of Major General and was ennobled in Sweden as Baron Tower.

In literature, the surname appears in the works of William Shakespeare. In Henry VI, Part 2, the character John Tower is a rebel who joins Jack Cade's rebellion against King Henry VI in 1450.

Thomas Tower (1637-1699) was an English philosopher and playwright known for his work "An Essay on the Life and Actions of the Renowned Antiquary Elias Ashmole." He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Lastly, Zealous B. Tower (1819-1900) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Ohio from 1873 to 1879. He was also a Union Army officer during the American Civil War.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tower

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

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

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

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