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

Town, 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 Town surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Town in America

Town is the 13029th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Town surname appeared 2,357 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Town.

We can also compare 2010 data for Town 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 Town

The surname TOWN originated in England during the medieval period, deriving from the Old English word "tun," meaning a village or an enclosed homestead. It was a habitational name, given to individuals who lived in or came from a particular town or village.

The name TOWN first appeared in historical records in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey commissioned by William the Conqueror to record the landholdings and wealth of England. This early record suggests that the surname was well-established by the 11th century.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname TOWN was William de la Towne, who was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273. This document lists landowners and their holdings, indicating that William de la Towne was a prominent figure in the area.

Another notable bearer of the TOWN surname was John de la Towne, who was born in 1315 and served as a member of Parliament for Bedfordshire in 1355 and 1357. His name appears in various parliamentary records from that time period.

In the 15th century, the surname TOWN was also associated with the town of Towton in Yorkshire, where the infamous Battle of Towton took place in 1461 during the Wars of the Roses. Some historians believe that the surname may have derived from this place name.

One of the most famous individuals with the TOWN surname was Robert Towne, an American screenwriter and filmmaker born in 1934. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning screenplay for the film "Chinatown" in 1974.

Another notable bearer of the TOWN surname was Charles Towne, born in 1737, who was a British architect and urban planner responsible for designing various buildings and squares in London, including the famous Berkeley Square.

Throughout history, the surname TOWN has undergone various spelling variations, such as Towne, Toune, and Toun, reflecting the regional dialects and language changes over time. However, the core meaning of the name has remained consistent, reflecting its origins as a habitational name referring to a town or village.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Town

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!