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

Tryon, 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 Tryon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tryon in America

Tryon is the 7201st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tryon surname appeared 4,638 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Tryon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tryon 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 Tryon

The surname Tryon originated in England and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "tren," meaning tree, and was initially a locational name given to someone who lived near a prominent or significant tree.

One of the earliest records of the name Tryon dates back to the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where it appears as "Robert de Trene." This suggests that the name was already in use during the late 13th century and may have originated from a place name containing the word "tren" or "treen."

In the 14th century, the surname Tryon appeared in various forms, such as "Trien," "Tryen," and "Trion," reflecting the variations in spelling common during that time period. These variations often depended on local dialects and the interpretation of the scribes who recorded the names.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and properties in England compiled in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname Tryon. However, it does mention several place names containing the root "tren," which may have been the origin of the surname in some cases.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Tryon was William Tryon (c. 1340-1406), who served as a Member of Parliament for Somerset during the reign of King Richard II. Another notable figure was Sir Samuel Tryon (c. 1615-1671), an English merchant and politician who served as the Governor of Bermuda from 1663 to 1668.

In the 18th century, William Tryon (1725-1788) gained prominence as the colonial governor of North Carolina from 1765 to 1771, and later served as the governor of New York from 1771 to 1780 during the American Revolutionary War.

Another notable bearer of the surname was Thomas Tryon (1634-1703), an English philosopher and writer known for his work "The Way to Health, Long Life and Happiness" published in 1691, which advocated vegetarianism and a simple lifestyle.

The surname Tryon also has a connection to place names, such as Tryon, North Carolina, and Tryon County, New York, both named after William Tryon, the colonial governor mentioned earlier.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tryon

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

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

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

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