Explore the Family Name Toure

The meaning of Toure

West African (mainly Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Senegal; Touré): from the name of the Touré clan of the Soninke and the closely related Mandinka peoples, which is from a Soninke word meaning ‘elephant’. This surname is also found among some other peoples, e.g. the Tukulors. Compare Touray and Turay. Some characteristic forenames: African/Muslim Mamadou, Oumar, Abdoulaye, Amadou, Ibrahima, Mohamed, Sekou, Askia, Bakary, Daouda, Moctar, Moussa, Omar, Seydou, Abdullah, Aboubacar, Ahmed, Aisha, Aliou, Aminata, Babacar, Boubacar, Cherif, Elhadji.

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

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

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname "Toure" has seen a significant increase in the United States between 2000 and 2010. In the year 2000, "Toure" ranked 25,945th in terms of surname commonality, but by 2010, it had climbed to the 13,764th spot—a change of approximately 47%. The actual count of individuals with this last name also saw significant growth during this period. It rose from 889 in 2000 to 2,198 in 2010, equating to a remarkable increase of roughly 147%.

20002010Change
Rank#25,945#13,76446.95%
Count8892,198147.24%
Proportion per 100k0.330.75127.27%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Toure

When examining the ethnic identity associated with the surname "Toure," based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, changes over the 10-year span are evident. As of 2010, the majority of people with this last name identified as Black—an increase of about 5% from 2000. During the same period, those identifying as White or Hispanic saw minor increases, while the proportion identifying with two or more races decreased significantly—by nearly 67%. There were no individuals with this surname who identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either census year.

20002010Change
Black87.96%92.22%4.84%
Two or More Races7.76%2.59%-66.62%
White2.14%2.37%10.75%
Hispanic1.91%2.05%7.33%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%