2000
#7,034
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,392
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.63
Rare Last name
Tower
An occupational surname referring to someone who lived or worked in a tower or fortified building.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,949 Americans carry the last name Tower. That puts it at #7,449 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 69,257 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tower 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Tower with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.9K
1 in 69,257
Census rank
#7,449
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,316 bearers of the surname Tower in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7449th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tower, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tower
Among Census respondents with the surname Tower, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Tower 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 Tower surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 3,898
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 127
- Two or more races2.8% · 121
- Black or African American2.5% · 108
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tower
Tower 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
#7,421
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,486
+94 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.52
Rank movement Down 387 places
2020
#7,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,316
-170 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.44
Rank movement Down 28 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,034 | 4,392 | 1.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,421 | 4,486 | 1.52 | +94 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 387 places |
| 2020 | #7,449 | 4,316 | 1.44 | -170 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 28 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 Tower 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 | #7,421 | #7,449 | -0.4% |
| Count | 4,486 | 4,316 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.52 | 1.44 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tower bearers went from 4,486 to 4,316 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 28 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,421 to #7,449.
FAQ
Tower surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tower?
Name Census estimates that about 4,949 living Americans carry the surname Tower. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 69,257 residents.
How common is Tower?
Tower ranks #7,449 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.44 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 4,316 people with the surname Tower. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,949), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.44 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 Tower.
Has Tower become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tower went from 4,486 recorded bearers to 4,316. That is a decrease of 170 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,421 to #7,449.
What does the Census say about the background of Tower?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tower, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Tower in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (3,898 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tower appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Tower (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 Tower mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who lived or worked in a tower or fortified building. 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 Tower (1.44 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 are called Tower?
You can see how many people have the surname Tower on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.