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

Turney, 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 Turney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Turney in America

Turney is the 5145th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Turney surname appeared 6,803 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 Turney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Turney 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 Turney

The surname Turney originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon period, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th centuries. The name is derived from the Old English words "tor" meaning a tower or rocky hill, and "ey" meaning an island or area of dry land surrounded by water. It is believed that the name may have been a descriptive term for someone who lived near a prominent rocky hill or island.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Turney can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and people in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name is listed as "de Tornai" and refers to a family that held lands in Staffordshire.

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various records as "de Turneye" and "de Tornay," likely referring to places with similar names in Normandy, France, and the English county of Lincolnshire. These early spellings suggest the name may have originated from a Norman-French place name before being adopted in England.

A notable historical figure with the surname Turney was Sir Edmund Turney (1487-1545), a prominent English lawyer and judge who served as Chief Baron of the Exchequer during the reign of Henry VIII. Another early bearer of the name was John Turney (1584-1653), an English clergyman and author who served as the Archdeacon of Suffolk.

In the 17th century, the name was recorded as "Turnye" and "Turnie" in various parish records and legal documents. During this period, John Turney (1625-1690), a wealthy merchant and landowner in Worcestershire, was a significant figure in the region.

Other notable individuals with the surname Turney include James Turney (1770-1840), an American politician who served as the 12th Governor of Tennessee, and John Turney (1826-1904), an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee and as the 27th Governor of Tennessee.

The name Turney has been associated with various places and landmarks throughout history, such as Turney's Tower, an ancient fortification in Gloucestershire, and Turney's Moor, a former area of common land in Shropshire.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Turney

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

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

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

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