2000
#6,982
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,427
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.64
Rare Last name
Tryon
Derived from a place name meaning "town on the River Trym" in Old English, or referring to a triangular hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,073 Americans carry the last name Tryon. That puts it at #7,263 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.48 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 67,564 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tryon 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.
Bearers in the US
5.1K
1 in 67,564
Census rank
#7,263
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,424 bearers of the surname Tryon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.48 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7263rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tryon, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.5%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tryon
Among Census respondents with the surname Tryon, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.5%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Tryon 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 Tryon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.2% · 3,636
- Black or African American7.5% · 330
- Two or more races5.2% · 232
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 161
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tryon
Tryon 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
#7,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,638
+211 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.57
Rank movement Down 219 places
2020
#7,263
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,424
-214 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 1.48
Rank movement Down 62 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,982 | 4,427 | 1.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,201 | 4,638 | 1.57 | +211 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 219 places |
| 2020 | #7,263 | 4,424 | 1.48 | -214 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 62 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 Tryon 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 | #7,201 | #7,263 | -0.9% |
| Count | 4,638 | 4,424 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.57 | 1.48 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tryon bearers went from 4,638 to 4,424 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 62 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,201 to #7,263.
FAQ
Tryon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tryon?
Name Census estimates that about 5,073 living Americans carry the surname Tryon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 67,564 residents.
How common is Tryon?
Tryon ranks #7,263 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.48 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 4,424 people with the surname Tryon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,073), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.48 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.48 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 Tryon.
Has Tryon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tryon went from 4,638 recorded bearers to 4,424. That is a decrease of 214 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,201 to #7,263.
What does the Census say about the background of Tryon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tryon, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.5%) 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Tryon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.2% (3,636 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tryon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.2%), Black (7.5%), 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 Tryon (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 Tryon mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "town on the River Trym" in Old English, or referring to a triangular hill. 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 Tryon (1.48 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 Tryon?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.