2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Trought
A surname derived from the Old English word "trohte," meaning a small stream or brook.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 178 Americans carry the last name Trought. That puts it at #118,445 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,925,586 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Trought 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 Trought with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
178
1 in 1,925,586
Census rank
#118,445
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
155
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 155 bearers of the surname Trought in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 118445th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Trought, the largest self-reported group is Black at 63.2%. The next largest groups are White (26.5%) and Two or More Races (6.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Trought
The surname TROUGHT is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period, specifically in the county of Yorkshire. It is derived from the Old English word "trog," which referred to a small wooden trough or vessel used for feeding animals or carrying water. This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname, given to someone who made or sold these troughs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name TROUGHT can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1189, where a person named William Troghe is mentioned. Another early reference is in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which lists a Robert le Troghe residing in Oxfordshire.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various spellings, including Trough, Troughe, and Trowghe. An entry in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield from 1345 mentions a John del Trough, indicating a connection to a specific location or property.
The TROUGHT surname has also been associated with certain place names in Yorkshire, such as Trough House, a hamlet near the village of Holmesfield. This suggests that some individuals may have adopted the name based on their place of residence or origin.
One notable figure with the surname TROUGHT was John Trought (c. 1580-1658), an English clergyman and writer who served as the Rector of Crudwell in Wiltshire. Another was William Trought (1586-1666), a member of the landed gentry in Gloucestershire and a Justice of the Peace.
In the 17th century, the name TROUGHT appeared in various parish records across England, indicating its widespread distribution. For example, in 1623, a Richard Trought was baptized in the parish of St. Mary Magdalene in Bermondsey, London.
Another individual of note was Robert Trought (1625-1699), a merchant and member of the East India Company, who was involved in trade with the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia).
In the 18th century, the TROUGHT surname continued to be found in various parts of England. One example is Thomas Trought (1735-1812), a landowner and Justice of the Peace in the county of Worcestershire.
As the centuries progressed, the TROUGHT surname spread across different regions of England and, in some cases, to other parts of the world through emigration and exploration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Trought
Among Census respondents with the surname Trought, the largest self-reported group is Black at 63.2%. The next largest groups are White (26.5%) and Two or More Races (6.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Trought 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 Trought surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American63.2% · 98
- White26.5% · 41
- Two or more races6.5% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Trought
Trought 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
#111,426
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 158
+35 bearers (+28.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 16,522 places
2020
#118,445
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 155
-3 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 7,019 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #111,426 | 158 | 0.05 | +35 bearers (+28.5%) | Up 16,522 places |
| 2020 | #118,445 | 155 | 0.05 | -3 bearers (-1.9%) | Down 7,019 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 Trought 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 | #111,426 | #118,445 | -6.3% |
| Count | 158 | 155 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | 3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Trought bearers went from 158 to 155 (-1.9% change). The surname moved down 7,019 positions in the national ranking, going from #111,426 to #118,445.
FAQ
Trought surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Trought?
Name Census estimates that about 178 living Americans carry the surname Trought. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,925,586 residents.
How common is Trought?
Trought ranks #118,445 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 155 people with the surname Trought. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (178), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Trought.
Has Trought become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Trought went from 158 recorded bearers to 155. That is a decrease of 3 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #111,426 to #118,445.
What does the Census say about the background of Trought?
Among Census respondents with the surname Trought, the largest self-reported group is Black at 63.2%. The next largest groups are White (26.5%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Trought in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.2% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Trought appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (63.2%), White (26.5%), Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Trought (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 Trought mean?
A surname derived from the Old English word "trohte," meaning a small stream or brook. 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 Trought (0.05 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 common is the surname Trought?
Want to know how common the surname Trought is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.