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

Twitchell, 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 Twitchell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Twitchell in America

Twitchell is the 11319th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Twitchell surname appeared 2,789 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Twitchell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Twitchell 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.

The history of the last name Twitchell

The surname Twitchell is of English origin, derived from a place name. It is believed to have originated in the late 12th or early 13th century in the county of Dorset, England. The name Twitchell likely comes from the Old English words "twiccen" meaning "fork" or "divide" and "hyll" meaning "hill", referring to a forked or divided hill.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Twitchell can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire from the year 1230, where a Robert de Twychull is mentioned. The Pipe Rolls were financial records maintained by the English Exchequer during the medieval period.

In the 14th century, the name appears in various spellings such as Twitchell, Twychull, and Twychel in various records from Dorset and neighboring counties. For example, a William Twitchel is mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Somerset from 1327.

During the 16th century, the surname Twitchell can be found in various parish records and manorial documents from the counties of Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire. One notable bearer of the name was John Twitchell, a yeoman farmer from the village of Melbury Osmond in Dorset, who lived from around 1520 to 1585.

In the late 17th century, a John Twitchell (1676-1738) was a prominent member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in America, serving as a selectman and a deacon in the town of Sherborn.

Another notable bearer of the surname was Giner Twitchell (1805-1883), an American inventor and manufacturer from Massachusetts, known for his contributions to the development of early sewing machines.

Other historical figures with the surname Twitchell include William Twitchell (1776-1857), an American lawyer and politician from Vermont, and Joseph Homer Twitchell (1868-1929), an American historian and author from New Hampshire.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Twitchell

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

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 Twitchell was:

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

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

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

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