2000
#11,329
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,558
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Truett
Derived from a place name meaning "beautiful view" in Old English, likely referring to a town or village.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,954 Americans carry the last name Truett. That puts it at #11,651 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 116,031 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Truett 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 Truett with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 116,031
Census rank
#11,651
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,576 bearers of the surname Truett in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11651st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Truett, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Truett
The surname Truett is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "treowth," which means "truth" or "faithfulness." The name likely referred to someone who was seen as honest and trustworthy.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Truett can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Treuet" in this document.
In the 13th century, the name Truett was found in various records from the county of Somerset, England. Some examples include William Trewet, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Somerset in 1212, and Richard Trewet, who was listed in the Assize Rolls of Somerset in 1278.
The surname Truett also has connections to several place names in England, such as Trewitt in Devonshire and Trewith in Cornwall. These place names likely influenced the spelling variations of the surname over time.
One notable person with the surname Truett was George Truett (1867-1944), an influential Baptist minister from the United States. He served as the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, for over 47 years and was a prominent figure in the Southern Baptist Convention.
Another individual with this surname was George Washington Truett (1846-1923), who was a lawyer and politician from Texas. He served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate in the late 19th century.
In the 18th century, Thomas Truett (1739-1810) was a Baptist minister and leader in Virginia who played a significant role in the early years of the Baptist movement in America.
Samuel Truett (1784-1857) was a Baptist minister and educator from North Carolina who founded several schools and colleges, including Wake Forest University.
Charles Truett (1857-1932) was an English artist and illustrator known for his watercolor paintings and illustrations for books and magazines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Truett
Among Census respondents with the surname Truett, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Truett 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 Truett surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.5% · 2,229
- Black or African American5.0% · 130
- Two or more races4.4% · 114
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 74
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Truett
Truett 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
#11,522
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,730
+172 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 193 places
2020
#11,651
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,576
-154 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 129 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,329 | 2,558 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,522 | 2,730 | 0.93 | +172 bearers (+6.7%) | Down 193 places |
| 2020 | #11,651 | 2,576 | 0.86 | -154 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 129 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 Truett 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 | #11,522 | #11,651 | -1.1% |
| Count | 2,730 | 2,576 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.93 | 0.86 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Truett bearers went from 2,730 to 2,576 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 129 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,522 to #11,651.
FAQ
Truett surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Truett?
Name Census estimates that about 2,954 living Americans carry the surname Truett. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 116,031 residents.
How common is Truett?
Truett ranks #11,651 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.86 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 2,576 people with the surname Truett. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,954), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.86 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 Truett.
Has Truett become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Truett went from 2,730 recorded bearers to 2,576. That is a decrease of 154 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,522 to #11,651.
What does the Census say about the background of Truett?
Among Census respondents with the surname Truett, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Truett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.5% (2,229 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Truett appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.5%), Black (5.0%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Truett (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 Truett mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "beautiful view" in Old English, likely referring to 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 Truett (0.86 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 share the surname Truett?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.