2000
#13,875
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,997
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Tune
An occupational surname for a player or maker of musical instruments, or a collector of barrel staves.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,144 Americans carry the last name Tune. That puts it at #15,135 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 159,867 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tune 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 Tune with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 159,867
Census rank
#15,135
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,870 bearers of the surname Tune in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15135th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tune, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.9%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tune
The surname TUNE is of English origin, with its roots traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated as an occupational name for a musician or a tuner of musical instruments.
The earliest known record of the name dates back to the late 13th century, where it appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire as "Tun." This spelling variation suggests that the name may have derived from the Old English word "tun," meaning a town or a village.
In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as "Tune," "Toun," and "Tovne," reflecting the regional dialects and spelling variations of the time. The Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379 mention a "Thomas Tune," which is one of the earliest recorded instances of the modern spelling.
During the 15th century, the name TUNE started to gain prominence, particularly in the southern counties of England. The Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk from 1524 list a "John Tune," and the Parish Registers of Gloucestershire from 1571 include a "William Tune."
One notable bearer of the surname TUNE was Sir John Tune (1534-1592), a prominent English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Colchester during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, the name TUNE appeared in various historical records, including the Hearth Tax Returns of Buckinghamshire from 1664, which mentioned a "Nathaniel Tune." Around this time, the surname also started to appear in Scotland, with records showing a "Robert Tune" in Glasgow in 1684.
Another notable figure was Thomas Tune (1638-1701), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk.
In the 18th century, the TUNE surname continued to spread across England and Scotland. The Parish Registers of Yorkshire from 1705 recorded a "John Tune," while the Monumental Inscriptions of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, from 1792 listed a "Margaret Tune."
One of the most prominent figures with the surname TUNE during this period was Sir Samuel Tune (1725-1798), a British naval officer who served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy's North American Station during the American Revolutionary War.
As the centuries progressed, the TUNE surname continued to be found in various regions of the United Kingdom, with bearers of the name contributing to various fields, including politics, religion, and the military.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tune
Among Census respondents with the surname Tune, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.9%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Tune 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 Tune surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.8% · 1,399
- Black or African American12.9% · 242
- Two or more races4.9% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tune
Tune 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
#14,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,142
+145 bearers (+7.3%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 183 places
2020
#15,135
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,870
-272 bearers (-12.7%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 1,077 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,875 | 1,997 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,058 | 2,142 | 0.73 | +145 bearers (+7.3%) | Down 183 places |
| 2020 | #15,135 | 1,870 | 0.63 | -272 bearers (-12.7%) | Down 1,077 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 Tune 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 | #14,058 | #15,135 | -7.7% |
| Count | 2,142 | 1,870 | -12.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.63 | -14.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tune bearers went from 2,142 to 1,870 (-12.7% change). The surname moved down 1,077 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,058 to #15,135.
FAQ
Tune surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tune?
Name Census estimates that about 2,144 living Americans carry the surname Tune. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 159,867 residents.
How common is Tune?
Tune ranks #15,135 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 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 1,870 people with the surname Tune. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,144), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 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 Tune.
Has Tune become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tune went from 2,142 recorded bearers to 1,870. That is a decrease of 272 (-12.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,058 to #15,135.
What does the Census say about the background of Tune?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tune, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.9%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Tune in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.8% (1,399 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tune appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.8%), Black (12.9%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Tune (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 Tune mean?
An occupational surname for a player or maker of musical instruments, or a collector of barrel staves. 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 Tune (0.63 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 Americans have the surname Tune?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.