Explore the Family Name Townson

The meaning of Townson

English (Lancashire and Yorkshire): north Lancashire pronunciation of Tomlinson. Compare Ronson for Rollinson. There may have been some confusion with Townsend, which occurs in northwestern England, and some instances of Townson are probably variants of Townsend.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Townson saw an increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the surname was ranked 15,154, but by 2010 it had moved up to rank 14,878, representing a 1.82% increase. The count of individuals with this last name also grew by approximately 11.43%, rising from 1,785 in 2000 to 1,989 in 2010. The proportion per 100,000 people of the surname Townson slightly increased from 0.66 to 0.67 over the same decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#15,154	#14,878	1.82%
Count	1,785	1,989	11.43%
Proportion per 100k	0.66	0.67	1.52%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Townson

The ethnicity associated with the surname Townson also experienced changes between 2000 and 2010 as per the Decennial U.S. Census data. While the majority of Townsons identified as White (75.36% down from 81.23% in 2000), there were increases in other ethnic identities. The number identifying as Black rose by 20.41%, making up 18.35% of the total in 2010. Those identifying as Hispanic made a significant leap, increasing by 70.99%. Meanwhile, a small portion of Townsons began to identify as Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native, categories that were not represented in 2000. There was also a 40.68% increase in those claiming two or more races.

	2000	2010	Change
White	81.23%	75.36%	-7.23%
Black	15.24%	18.35%	20.41%
Hispanic	1.62%	2.77%	70.99%
Two or More Races	1.18%	1.66%	40.68%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	1.21%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.65%	0%