Twining last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Twining

A surname derived from the occupation of a rope or string maker.

Twining, 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 Twining surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Twining in America

Twining is the 20057th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Twining surname appeared 1,333 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Twining.

We can also compare 2010 data for Twining 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 20057 19232 4.20%
Count 1,333 1,305 2.12%
Proportion per 100k 0.45 0.48 -6.45%

The history of the last name Twining

The surname Twining has its origins in England, originating sometime in the early medieval period around the 12th or 13th century. It is thought to be an occupational name derived from the Old English word "twinan," meaning "to twist" or "to twine," and likely referred to someone who worked as a rope-maker or twiner of thread.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, which mentions a William le Twyner. The surname is also found in the Subsidy Rolls of Warwickshire from 1332, listing a Robert le Twynere.

The Twining surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. Richard Twining (1749-1824) was an English tea merchant and founder of the famous Twining's Tea Company, which has been in operation since 1706. Another prominent figure was Thomas Twining (1806-1895), an English industrialist and member of Parliament.

In the realm of literature, Mary Arnold Twining (1865-1927) was a British writer and translator, best known for her English translation of the ancient Hindu text, the Bhagavad Gita. Additionally, Edward Francis Twining (1799-1857) was a British naval officer and hydrographer who published several works on navigation and surveying.

The name has also been linked to various places, such as Twining in Gloucestershire, England, which is believed to have derived its name from the Old English words "twin" and "ing," meaning "the place of the two streams."

Other notable individuals bearing the Twining surname include William Twining (1632-1700), an English merchant and Quaker, and John Twining (1824-1904), an English architect who designed several churches and public buildings in London.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Twining

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

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 Twining was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.80% 1,277
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.68% 9
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.58% 21
Hispanic Origin 1.65% 22

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 Twining has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.80% 96.86% -1.10%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.68% 0.46% 38.60%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.58% 1.61% -1.88%
Hispanic 1.65% 0.54% 101.37%

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

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

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"Twining last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 14, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/twining-surname-popularity/.

"Twining last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/twining-surname-popularity/. Accessed 14 November, 2024

Twining last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/twining-surname-popularity/.

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