2000
#13,233
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.78
Rare Last name
Turbeville
A locational surname derived from a place in Normandy, France, likely referring to a muddy town.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,193 Americans carry the last name Turbeville. That puts it at #14,872 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 156,295 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Turbeville 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
2.2K
1 in 156,295
Census rank
#14,872
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,912 bearers of the surname Turbeville in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14872nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Turbeville, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Turbeville
The surname TURBEVILLE is of French origin, deriving from the Old French words "tourbe" and "ville," meaning "peat" and "town" respectively. It is believed to have originated as a place name referring to a town or settlement located near a peat bog or marshland area.
The earliest recorded instances of the TURBEVILLE surname can be traced back to the regions of Normandy and Brittany in northern France during the 11th and 12th centuries. Some of the earliest known bearers of this name include Willelmus de Turbevilla, mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and Robertus de Turbevilla, who was recorded in the Cartulary of the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel in 1155.
As the TURBEVILLE name spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, including Turbervile, Turbervill, Turbeville, and Turbevillius. One notable bearer of this name was George Turberville (c. 1540-1610), an English poet and writer who published several works, including "The Booke of Faulconrie" and translations of Ovid's "Heroycall Epistles."
In the 13th century, the TURBEVILLE name appeared in England, with Sir Robert de Turbeville (d. 1285) being granted land in Dorset by King Henry III. His descendants continued to hold significant properties in the region for several generations.
Another notable figure was Sir John Turberville (c. 1315-1363), a Welsh knight and soldier who fought in the Hundred Years' War and was renowned for his military prowess. He was captured by the French during the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 but was later ransomed.
In the 16th century, the TURBEVILLE surname gained prominence in the Netherlands, with Matthias Turbevillius (c. 1550-1620), a Dutch scholar and philologist, becoming a respected figure in the field of classical literature and linguistics.
The TURBEVILLE name also found its way to North America during the colonial era, with several individuals bearing this surname arriving in the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, including Thomas Turbeville, who was recorded in Virginia in 1635.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Turbeville
Among Census respondents with the surname Turbeville, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Turbeville 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 Turbeville surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 1,751
- Two or more races3.3% · 64
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 62
- Black or African American0.9% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Turbeville
Turbeville 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
#13,884
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,175
+60 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 651 places
2020
#14,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,912
-263 bearers (-12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 988 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,233 | 2,115 | 0.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,884 | 2,175 | 0.74 | +60 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 651 places |
| 2020 | #14,872 | 1,912 | 0.64 | -263 bearers (-12.1%) | Down 988 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 Turbeville 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 | #13,884 | #14,872 | -7.1% |
| Count | 2,175 | 1,912 | -12.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.64 | -13.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Turbeville bearers went from 2,175 to 1,912 (-12.1% change). The surname moved down 988 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,884 to #14,872.
FAQ
Turbeville surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Turbeville?
Name Census estimates that about 2,193 living Americans carry the surname Turbeville. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 156,295 residents.
How common is Turbeville?
Turbeville ranks #14,872 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 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 1,912 people with the surname Turbeville. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,193), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 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 Turbeville.
Has Turbeville become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Turbeville went from 2,175 recorded bearers to 1,912. That is a decrease of 263 (-12.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,884 to #14,872.
What does the Census say about the background of Turbeville?
Among Census respondents with the surname Turbeville, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Turbeville in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (1,751 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Turbeville appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Turbeville (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 Turbeville mean?
A locational surname derived from a place in Normandy, France, likely referring to a muddy town. 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 Turbeville (0.64 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 Turbeville?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.