2000
#6,717
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,633
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.72
Rare Last name
Townes
Derived from a place name referring to someone who lived near a town or village.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,554 Americans carry the last name Townes. That puts it at #6,700 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 61,713 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Townes 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 Townes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.6K
1 in 61,713
Census rank
#6,700
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,843 bearers of the surname Townes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6700th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Townes, the largest self-reported group is Black at 65.1%. The next largest groups are White (25.3%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Townes
The surname Townes is of English origin, stemming from the Old English word "tun" which means an enclosed homestead or village. It likely originated as a locational name, indicating someone who resided in a particular town or village.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Townes can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of England, including Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Lincolnshire. It was often spelled as "Tone," "Toun," or "Toune" in ancient records and manuscripts.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was William de Tone, who was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1273. Another notable individual was John Towne, a member of the Parliament of England who served during the reign of King Edward III in the 14th century.
In the 16th century, the spelling "Townes" became more prevalent, and the name was associated with several prominent figures. One such person was Robert Townes, a renowned English composer and organist who lived from 1525 to 1597.
During the 17th century, the Townes family played a significant role in the colonization of America. William Townes, born in 1601 in England, was among the early settlers in Virginia, establishing roots in the New World.
Another notable bearer of the Townes surname was Charles Townes, an American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate. Born in 1915, he is best known for his pioneering work in the development of the maser and laser technologies, earning him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1964.
Other historical figures with the surname Townes include John Townes, a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London during the late 18th century, and Henry Townes, an American politician and statesman who served as a U.S. Senator from Georgia in the early 19th century.
The Townes surname has also been associated with various place names throughout history, such as Townesend in Kent, England, and Townesville in Queensland, Australia, which were likely derived from the surname itself or influenced by its origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Townes
Among Census respondents with the surname Townes, the largest self-reported group is Black at 65.1%. The next largest groups are White (25.3%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Townes 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 Townes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American65.1% · 3,151
- White25.3% · 1,226
- Two or more races5.2% · 254
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 173
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Townes
Townes 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
#6,669
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,067
+434 bearers (+9.4%)
Per 100,000 1.72
Rank movement Up 48 places
2020
#6,700
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,843
-224 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 1.62
Rank movement Down 31 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,717 | 4,633 | 1.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,669 | 5,067 | 1.72 | +434 bearers (+9.4%) | Up 48 places |
| 2020 | #6,700 | 4,843 | 1.62 | -224 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 31 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 Townes 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 | #6,669 | #6,700 | -0.5% |
| Count | 5,067 | 4,843 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.72 | 1.62 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Townes bearers went from 5,067 to 4,843 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 31 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,669 to #6,700.
FAQ
Townes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Townes?
Name Census estimates that about 5,554 living Americans carry the surname Townes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 61,713 residents.
How common is Townes?
Townes ranks #6,700 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,843 people with the surname Townes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,554), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Townes.
Has Townes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Townes went from 5,067 recorded bearers to 4,843. That is a decrease of 224 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,669 to #6,700.
What does the Census say about the background of Townes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Townes, the largest self-reported group is Black at 65.1%. The next largest groups are White (25.3%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Townes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.1% (3,151 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Townes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (65.1%), White (25.3%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Townes (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 Townes mean?
Derived from a place name referring to someone who lived near a town or village. 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 Townes (1.62 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 surname Townes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.