Explore the Family Name Tinkle

The meaning of Tinkle

Probably an altered form of German Dinkel, an occupational name for a grain farmer or grain merchant.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Tinkle has seen a slight rise between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Tinkle was ranked 22,821 in terms of popularity among surnames in the United States; by 2010, it had climbed to 22,069, an increase of 3.3%. The actual count of people with the Tinkle surname also increased during this period, from 1,048 in 2000 to 1,174 in 2010, marking a 12.02% growth rate. As for the proportion per 100,000 people, it rose slightly from 0.39 to 0.4, up by 2.56%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#22,821	#22,069	3.3%
Count	1,048	1,174	12.02%
Proportion per 100k	0.39	0.4	2.56%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Tinkle

The ethnicity data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals changes in the ethnic identity associated with the Tinkle surname from 2000 to 2010. While a significant majority of individuals with this surname identified as White (93.61% in 2010, down from 95.52% in 2000), there were increases in other ethnic identities. Notably, the Hispanic population rose from 1.43% to 2.04%, marking a 42.66% increase. Similarly, the Black population increased by 11.3%, going from 1.15% to 1.28%. The proportion of American Indian and Alaskan Natives also saw growth, rising by 7.37% to reach 1.02% in 2010. The 2010 Census also recorded those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and those reporting two or more races within the Tinkle surname for the first time.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.52%	93.61%	-2%
Hispanic	1.43%	2.04%	42.66%
Two or More Races	0%	1.53%	0%
Black	1.15%	1.28%	11.3%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.95%	1.02%	7.37%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.51%	0%