Explore the Family Name Tinkler

The meaning of Tinkler

1. English (northern) and Scottish: variant of Tinker. 2. Probably an altered form of German Dinkler, a metonymic occupational name for a grain farmer or grain merchant, from an agent derivative of Middle High German dinkel ‘spelt’ (a variety of wheat).

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

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

The surname "Tinkler" saw a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, it was ranked 24,969 and by 2010 it had slipped to 26,126 in rank—a change of -4.63%. However, the count of people with this surname remained relatively stable, increasing slightly from 934 people in 2000 to 937 in 2010. The proportion of people with the surname Tinkler per 100,000 decreased by -8.57%, moving from 0.35 to 0.32.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#24,969	#26,126	-4.63%
Count	934	937	0.32%
Proportion per 100k	0.35	0.32	-8.57%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Tinkler

The ethnic identity attached to the surname "Tinkler" also experienced changes from 2000 to 2010 based on the Decennial U.S. Census data. Those identifying as White represented the largest group, though their percentage dropped slightly from 93.25% to 90.72%. Meanwhile, those identifying as Hispanic and Black saw notable increases, rising from 1.18% to 2.24% and from 3.64% to 4.59% respectively. It's also worth noting that between these years, there emerged individuals with the Tinkler surname who identified as being of Two or more races and American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicities (0.85% each), where previously there were none in 2000. The Asian/Pacific Islander group saw a slight decrease, moving from 0.86% to 0.75%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	93.25%	90.72%	-2.71%
Black	3.64%	4.59%	26.1%
Hispanic	1.18%	2.24%	89.83%
Two or More Races	0%	0.85%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.85%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.86%	0.75%	-12.79%