2000
#12,122
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,360
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Tuten
Derived from a Middle English place name meaning "lookout hill," likely referring to someone who lived near such a place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,517 Americans carry the last name Tuten. That puts it at #13,303 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 136,176 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tuten 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
2.5K
1 in 136,176
Census rank
#13,303
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,195 bearers of the surname Tuten in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13303rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tuten, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tuten
The surname Tuten has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the early Middle Ages around the 11th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "tute," which referred to a small horn or trumpet used for signaling purposes. This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive name given to someone who played or made such instruments.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tuten can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony, Germany. In a record dated 1124, a person named Tuto is mentioned, which is likely an early spelling variation of Tuten.
During the 13th century, the name appears in various records from the German states of Saxony and Thuringia. In a document from 1287, a certain Konrad Tuten is listed as a landowner in the town of Altenburg, located in modern-day Thuringia.
As the name spread across German-speaking regions, it evolved into different spellings, such as Tuten, Tüten, and Tueten. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and scribal practices.
One notable figure bearing the surname Tuten was Hans Tuten, a 16th-century German composer and organist who served at the court of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden. He was born around 1540 and is known for his compositions for organ and choir.
In the 17th century, the name appeared in the records of the city of Lübeck, located in northern Germany. A merchant named Johann Tuten is listed in the city's trade registers from 1632, indicating the name's presence in the mercantile class.
Another person of historical significance was Johann Christian Tuten, a German theologian and philosopher born in 1716 in the town of Zittau, Saxony. He was a prominent figure in the German Enlightenment and authored several works on religious and philosophical topics.
The name Tuten also found its way to other parts of Europe, such as the Netherlands. In the Dutch city of Rotterdam, a record from 1782 mentions a baker named Pieter Tuten, suggesting the name's spread through migration and trade routes.
In the 19th century, a notable figure with the surname Tuten was Wilhelm Tuten, a German mathematician and astronomer born in 1828 in the city of Hamburg. He made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and worked as a professor at the University of Berlin.
While the surname Tuten has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to immigration and migration patterns. However, its origins can be traced back to the Old German language and the medieval period in Central Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tuten
Among Census respondents with the surname Tuten, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Tuten 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 Tuten surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 1,929
- Black or African American6.2% · 135
- Two or more races3.2% · 70
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tuten
Tuten 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
#12,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,566
+206 bearers (+8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Down 18 places
2020
#13,303
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,195
-371 bearers (-14.5%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 1,163 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,122 | 2,360 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,140 | 2,566 | 0.87 | +206 bearers (+8.7%) | Down 18 places |
| 2020 | #13,303 | 2,195 | 0.73 | -371 bearers (-14.5%) | Down 1,163 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 Tuten 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 | #12,140 | #13,303 | -9.6% |
| Count | 2,566 | 2,195 | -14.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.87 | 0.73 | -15.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tuten bearers went from 2,566 to 2,195 (-14.5% change). The surname moved down 1,163 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,140 to #13,303.
FAQ
Tuten surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tuten?
Name Census estimates that about 2,517 living Americans carry the surname Tuten. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 136,176 residents.
How common is Tuten?
Tuten ranks #13,303 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 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 2,195 people with the surname Tuten. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,517), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 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 Tuten.
Has Tuten become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tuten went from 2,566 recorded bearers to 2,195. That is a decrease of 371 (-14.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,140 to #13,303.
What does the Census say about the background of Tuten?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tuten, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Two or More Races (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 Tuten in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (1,929 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tuten appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Black (6.2%), Two or More Races (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 Tuten (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 Tuten mean?
Derived from a Middle English place name meaning "lookout hill," likely referring to someone who lived near such a place. 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 Tuten (0.73 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 people have the surname Tuten?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.