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

Tuomala, 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 Tuomala surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tuomala in America

Tuomala is the 81458th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tuomala surname appeared 232 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Tuomala.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tuomala 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 Tuomala

The surname TUOMALA originated in Finland. It is derived from the Finnish word "tuomi" which means bird cherry tree, and "mala" which means hill or ridge. This suggests the name likely referred to someone who lived near a hill or ridge with bird cherry trees growing on it.

The name dates back to the 16th century in Finland. Some of the earliest recorded instances are from church records and tax rolls from the 1500s in the regions of Häme and Satakunta in southwestern Finland. Variants like Tuomela, Tuominen, and Tuomivaara were also seen in these early records.

A notable early bearer of the name was Martti Tuomala, a farmer who lived in the village of Huittinen in the late 1600s according to local records. Another was Jaakko Tuomala, a soldier who fought in the Finnish War of 1808-1809 against Russia.

In the 1800s, the name started appearing in records outside of Finland as Finnish emigrants spread to other countries. Johan Tuomala was born in 1832 and emigrated to Michigan in the United States in the 1860s, becoming one of the first Finnish settlers there.

Aarne Tuomala was a Finnish athlete born in 1908 who competed in cross-country skiing events in the 1936 Winter Olympics in Germany. Pietari Tuomala, born in 1816, was a member of the Finnish Diet which governed autonomously under Imperial Russia in the late 19th century.

Marjatta Tuomala, born in 1932, was a renowned Finnish textile artist known for her innovative tapestry weaving techniques combining traditional and modern styles. Her works are part of museum collections worldwide.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tuomala

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

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

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

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