2010
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tweit
Derived from Norwegian words meaning "clearing" or "patch of cleared land".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Tweit. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tweit 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Tweit in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tweit, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tweit
The surname "TWEIT" is of Norwegian origin, with its roots traced back to the early Middle Ages. This name is derived from the Old Norse word "tveita," which means "a clearing" or "a patch of land." It is believed that the name originally referred to people who lived or worked on such a clearing or patch of land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "TWEIT" can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents from the 12th to the 16th centuries. In this collection, the name appears as "Tveiten," which was a common spelling variation during that time period.
The name "TWEIT" has also been documented in various Norwegian farm names and place names throughout history. For example, the village of Tveit in Vestfold County, Norway, is believed to have derived its name from the same root word as the surname.
Among the notable historical figures bearing the surname "TWEIT" is Ola Tveiten (1832-1913), a Norwegian farmer and politician who served as a member of the Storting, the Norwegian parliament, in the late 19th century.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Olav Tveiten (1890-1973), a Norwegian theologian and professor at the University of Oslo. He made significant contributions to the field of religious studies and authored several scholarly works on Christianity.
In the 18th century, there was a Norwegian farmer and landowner named Bjørn Tveiten (1712-1786), who was known for his agricultural innovations and expertise in cultivating various crops.
The name "TWEIT" also appears in the records of Norwegian immigrants to the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries. One such individual was Knut Tveiten (1865-1947), who settled in Minnesota and became a prominent figure in the local Norwegian-American community.
Another notable person with this surname was Ingrid Tveiten (1905-1988), a Norwegian-American artist and painter who was renowned for her landscapes and depictions of rural life in Norway and the American Midwest.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tweit
Among Census respondents with the surname Tweit, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Tweit 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 Tweit surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 104
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tweit
Tweit appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-21 bearers (-16.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 18,878 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -21 bearers (-16.8%) | Down 18,878 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 Tweit 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 | #134,712 | #153,590 | -14.0% |
| Count | 125 | 104 | -16.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tweit bearers went from 125 to 104 (-16.8% change). The surname moved down 18,878 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #153,590.
FAQ
Tweit surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tweit?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Tweit. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Tweit?
Tweit ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Tweit. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Tweit.
Has Tweit become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tweit went from 125 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 21 (-16.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Tweit?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tweit, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Tweit in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tweit appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Tweit (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 Tweit mean?
Derived from Norwegian words meaning "clearing" or "patch of cleared land". 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 Tweit (0.03 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 Tweit?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Tweit? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.