2000
#9,559
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.16
Rare Last name
Twigg
A surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with twigs, reeds, or willows.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,588 Americans carry the last name Twigg. That puts it at #9,863 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 95,528 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Twigg 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 Twigg with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.6K
1 in 95,528
Census rank
#9,863
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,129 bearers of the surname Twigg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9863rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Twigg, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Twigg
The surname Twigg has its origins in England, emerging in the 12th century as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a forked or twisted tree branch. It is derived from the Old English word "twigg," meaning a forked branch or a flexible twig.
The earliest known record of the name dates back to the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1195, where a person named Osbert Twigg is mentioned. Another early reference is found in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1273, which mentions a William Twyg.
During the Middle Ages, the name was primarily concentrated in the counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, and Staffordshire, where it was closely associated with the rural landscape and agricultural communities. The name was often spelled in various ways, including Twyg, Twig, and Twigge, reflecting the regional dialects of the time.
One notable bearer of the name was John Twigg, a 16th-century English landowner and yeoman from Cheshire, who was recorded in the Cheshire Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1541. Another was Thomas Twigg, born in 1587 in Nantwich, Cheshire, who was a prominent merchant and alderman in the city.
In the 17th century, the name appeared in the records of the Hearth Tax of Cheshire in 1664, where several families with the surname Twigg were listed as taxpayers. During this period, the name also spread to other parts of England, including Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Twigg in North America dates back to the late 17th century, when John Twigg, born in 1676 in Cheshire, England, immigrated to Virginia and settled in what is now Twigg County, Georgia.
Another notable figure was Sir John Twigg, born in 1819 in Lancashire, who was a British military officer and served in the Crimean War. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military honor in the British Empire, for his bravery during the Battle of Inkerman in 1854.
Other notable individuals with the surname Twigg include William Twigg, a 19th-century English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, and John Twigg, a 20th-century British actor who appeared in several films and television shows.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Twigg
Among Census respondents with the surname Twigg, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Twigg 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 Twigg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 2,818
- Two or more races5.8% · 181
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 70
- Black or African American1.0% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Twigg
Twigg 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
#10,015
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,219
+99 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Down 456 places
2020
#9,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,129
-90 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 1.05
Rank movement Up 152 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,559 | 3,120 | 1.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,015 | 3,219 | 1.09 | +99 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 456 places |
| 2020 | #9,863 | 3,129 | 1.05 | -90 bearers (-2.8%) | Up 152 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 Twigg 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 | #10,015 | #9,863 | 1.5% |
| Count | 3,219 | 3,129 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.09 | 1.05 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Twigg bearers went from 3,219 to 3,129 (-2.8% change). The surname moved up 152 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,015 to #9,863.
FAQ
Twigg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Twigg?
Name Census estimates that about 3,588 living Americans carry the surname Twigg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 95,528 residents.
How common is Twigg?
Twigg ranks #9,863 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.05 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 3,129 people with the surname Twigg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,588), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.05 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 Twigg.
Has Twigg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Twigg went from 3,219 recorded bearers to 3,129. That is a decrease of 90 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,015 to #9,863.
What does the Census say about the background of Twigg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Twigg, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Twigg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (2,818 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Twigg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Two or More Races (5.8%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Twigg (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 Twigg mean?
A surname referring to someone who lived near or worked with twigs, reeds, or willows. 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 Twigg (1.05 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 many Americans have the surname Twigg?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.