Explore the Family Name Ton Nu

The meaning of Ton Nu

Vietnamese (Tôn Nữ, 尊女 in Chinese): two-character compound surname (derived from the Chinese word 孫女, meaning ‘granddaughter’). Under the order of the Emperor Minh Mạng (1791–1841 AD), this surname was adopted by those female royal members who were collateral branches of the Nguyễn family (not the direct first-born descendants of the Emperor).

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

How common is the last name Ton Nu in the United States?

The surname Ton Nu has gained popularity in the United States over the past decade, according to data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, it was ranked 55,124th, but by 2010, it had risen to the 41,959th spot, indicating a significant increase of 23.88%. The count of individuals with the surname also saw a substantial rise, growing from 349 in 2000 to 518 in 2010 – an impressive growth rate of 48.42%. Consequently, the proportion of people named Ton Nu per 100,000 population increased by 38.46% during the same period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#55,124	#41,959	23.88%
Count	349	518	48.42%
Proportion per 100k	0.13	0.18	38.46%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ton Nu

When it comes to ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that most individuals bearing the Ton Nu surname identify as Asian/Pacific Islander. There was a slight decrease in this group from 98.57% in 2000 to 98.26% in 2010, a minimal change of -0.31%. Interestingly, in 2010, some people with the Ton Nu surname started identifying with two or more races, representing 1.16% of the total. There were no changes seen in other ethnic identities such as White, Hispanic, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native for both 2000 and 2010, with all these groups staying at 0%.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	98.57%	98.26%	-0.31%
Two or More Races	0%	1.16%	0%
White	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%