Explore the Family Name Tarpley

The meaning of Tarpley

English (Northamptonshire): habitational name from Tarporley in Cheshire. The origin of the placename is uncertain, but it may derive from Old English thorpera, genitive plural of thorpere ‘person who lives in an outlying farmstead’ (from a derivative of thorp ‘secondary settlement, outlying farmstead’) + lēah ‘wood, woodland clearing’. This surname is now rare in Britain and Ireland.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Tarpley in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname 'Tarpley' saw a minor dip between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked as the 8400th most popular surname in the U.S., but dropped to the 8896th spot in 2010, marking a decrease by about 5.9%. However, the actual count of individuals with the surname slightly increased from 3,617 to 3,680, a growth of 1.74%. The proportion per 100,000 people also decreased from 1.34 to 1.25, a change of -6.72%.

20002010Change
Rank#8,400#8,896-5.9%
Count3,6173,6801.74%
Proportion per 100k1.341.25-6.72%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Tarpley

The ethnic identity associated with the Tarpley surname also experienced shifts during this timeframe, according to the same Decennial U.S. Census data. The percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native were relatively low but saw increases of 10.64% and 16.67%, respectively. There was a significant rise in those identifying as belonging to two or more races, which nearly doubled from 1.55% to 3.02%. The percentage of those identifying as White decreased slightly from 73.43% to 70.27%. Meanwhile, the Hispanic identification saw a substantial increase of 65.93%, and Black identification saw a marginal increase from 22.42% to 22.83%.

20002010Change
White73.43%70.27%-4.3%
Black22.42%22.83%1.83%
Two or More Races1.55%3.02%94.84%
Hispanic1.82%3.02%65.93%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.47%0.52%10.64%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.3%0.35%16.67%