2000
#4,496
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,263
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.69
Rare Last name
Turney
Derived from a place name meaning "thornbush island" in Old English, or referring to someone from Tournai, Belgium.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,029 Americans carry the last name Turney. That puts it at #5,477 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 48,763 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Turney 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 Turney with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.0K
1 in 48,763
Census rank
#5,477
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,130 bearers of the surname Turney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5477th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Turney, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Turney
Among Census respondents with the surname Turney, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Turney 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 Turney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.3% · 4,860
- Black or African American9.6% · 588
- Two or more races4.9% · 302
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 217
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 119
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 44
Timeline
Historical Census data for Turney
Turney 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
#5,145
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,803
-460 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 2.31
Rank movement Down 649 places
2020
#5,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,130
-673 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 2.05
Rank movement Down 332 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,496 | 7,263 | 2.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,145 | 6,803 | 2.31 | -460 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 649 places |
| 2020 | #5,477 | 6,130 | 2.05 | -673 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 332 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 Turney 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 | #5,145 | #5,477 | -6.5% |
| Count | 6,803 | 6,130 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.31 | 2.05 | -11.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Turney bearers went from 6,803 to 6,130 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 332 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,145 to #5,477.
FAQ
Turney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Turney?
Name Census estimates that about 7,029 living Americans carry the surname Turney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 48,763 residents.
How common is Turney?
Turney ranks #5,477 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,130 people with the surname Turney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,029), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Turney.
Has Turney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Turney went from 6,803 recorded bearers to 6,130. That is a decrease of 673 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,145 to #5,477.
What does the Census say about the background of Turney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Turney, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) 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 Turney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.3% (4,860 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Turney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.3%), Black (9.6%), 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 Turney (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 Turney mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "thornbush island" in Old English, or referring to someone from Tournai, Belgium. 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 Turney (2.05 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 common is the surname Turney?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Turney, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.