Townson Surname

93,789th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 5,083 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Isle of Man

Townson Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Thomas.' However odd this may seem to be, it is unmistakably true. Townson is a North Lancashire corruption of the great Furness surname Tomlinson through the stage Towenson.

Read More About This Surname

Townson Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,9611:184,83418,426
England1,7751:31,3904,188
Australia5641:47,8655,981
Canada4681:78,7308,833
Wales711:43,5854,199
Scotland541:99,1456,812
Northern Ireland321:57,6574,597
New Zealand271:167,71618,432
Dominican Republic231:453,60614,824
South Africa151:3,611,847123,156
Guatemala131:1,237,1285,444
Qatar121:196,50026,891
Isle of Man101:8,5821,778
Switzerland101:821,29253,588
Spain81:5,844,00486,878
Germany81:10,063,182283,807
Portugal41:2,604,56016,079
Singapore41:1,376,92628,409
Malaysia31:9,831,408269,765
Thailand21:35,319,172966,191
Sweden21:4,923,378241,212
Brazil21:107,037,1661,031,150
Hong Kong21:3,667,74211,574
United Arab Emirates11:9,162,273135,437
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
China11:1,367,321,56651,149
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
Taiwan11:23,444,74693,622
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
Nigeria11:177,142,758748,972
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
France11:66,422,722504,397
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
El Salvador11:6,343,8888,415
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland41:1,107,46726,093
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1,2521:19,4692,791
Scotland141:267,3738,913
Wales41:392,10412,338
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States5541:90,6479,336

Townson (35) may also be a first name.

Townson Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Thomas.' However odd this may seem to be, it is unmistakably true. Townson is a North Lancashire corruption of the great Furness surname Tomlinson through the stage Towenson. Of this there cannot be the shadow of a doubt. Even now Townson is pronounced Tone-son in the district.

1571. Edmund Tollenson, or Townson, of Catton: Lancashire Wills at Richmond.

1587. Richard Towlson, or Tounsonn, of Dalton: ibid.

1588. Jenet Towenson, or Tomlinson, of Ulverston: ibid.

1594. Thomas Toulnson, or Townson, of Gressingham: ibid.

1620. Thomas Tolnson, or Townson, of Catton: ibid.

1635. Thomas Towenson, or Tomlinson, of Pennington: ibid.

1683. Elizabeth Toulnson, of Pilling: ibid.

The present form in Furness, where Tomlinson has predominated for centuries, is Townson; compare Rawnson for Rawlinson in the same record, viz. Lancashire Wills at Richmond.

1730. Married — William Townson and Mary Blackwell: St. George's Chapel, Mayfair.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

1 Town’s Son: v. Town.

2 a corrupt form of Tomlinson, q.v.

3 for Towlson, Tolson, q.v.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

From the Danish, Tonnesen; a personal name.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

John and Augustine Townson, two Lancashire men of eminent learning, were associated in the 17th century with the Westphalian monastery of Lamspring (W. W.). The Toulnsons were an old Lancaster family, members of which filled the office of mayor in 1630, 1650, and 1676 (H. L.). Townson is still a Lancaster name. Clement Towlson held land in Bowland in the early part of the 17th century (W. W.).

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Townson Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Townson Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Townson is found most frequently in The United States. It can be found as a variant:. For other possible spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Townson? popularity and diffusion

Townson is the 93,789th most widespread family name on a worldwide basis, borne by approximately 1 in 1,433,710 people. The surname Townson occurs mostly in The Americas, where 47 percent of Townson are found; 46 percent are found in North America and 46 percent are found in Anglo-North America. Townson is also the 1,744,716th most widespread first name world-wide, borne by 35 people.

Townson is most prevalent in The United States, where it is borne by 1,961 people, or 1 in 184,834. In The United States Townson is primarily concentrated in: Alabama, where 16 percent are found, Texas, where 12 percent are found and California, where 7 percent are found. Other than The United States this surname is found in 35 countries. It also occurs in England, where 35 percent are found and Australia, where 11 percent are found.

Townson Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Townson has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people carrying the Townson last name expanded 354 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it expanded 142 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it expanded 1,775 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 386 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it declined 75 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Townson Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the Townson surname is principally Anglican (67%) in Ireland.

In The United States Townson are 10.24% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 57.01% registered with the political party.

The amount Townson earn in different countries varies markedly. In South Africa they earn 35.39% more than the national average, earning R 321,732 per year; in United States they earn 9.24% less than the national average, earning $39,162 USD per year and in Canada they earn 5.03% less than the national average, earning $47,185 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

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Townson Reference & Research

TOWNSEND FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.

TOWNSEND FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Townson
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis