Towzer Surname

7,117,718th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 7 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Wales
Highest density in:
Wales

Towzer Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the tozer' or teaser (v. Tasseler), one who tosed or teased cloth, one who carded wool, or raised the nap on cloth.' What schepe that is full of wulle Upon his backe they tose and pulle.': Gower's Confcssio Amantis.

Read More About This Surname

Towzer Surname Distribution Map

By incidenceBy frequencyBy rank
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Wales71:442,07621,198
Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England61:4,062,562101,150
Wales11:1,568,41619,290
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States21:25,109,342694,541

Towzer Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the tozer' or teaser (v. Tasseler), one who tosed or teased cloth, one who carded wool, or raised the nap on cloth.' What schepe that is full of wulle Upon his backe they tose and pulle.': Gower's Confcssio Amantis.

A recipe from an old Harleian MS. thus begins, 'Recipe brawne of capons, or of hennys, and dry them well, and towse them small.' 'Toze, the same as touse' (Halliwell). 'Touse, to tug or pull about' (ibid). Hence 'dog Towzer.' 'Tosynge of wulle' (Prompt. Parv). 'Tosare of wulle, carptrix' (ibid).

Johannes Tesur, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

John Toser, Norfolk Valor Ecclesiasticus.

1605-6. Thomas Sowersby and Mary Tozer: Marriage Alleg. (Canterbury).

1748. Married — Samuel Touzer and Jane Town: St. George's Chapel, Mayfair.

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

(English) 1 Teaser, Carder (of wool, etc.) [from English touse, Middle English tusen, to pull about; of Teutonic orig.] 2 used as a nickname for a Roisterer, Rowdy [same etym.] But let him loose amongst my kitchen- furniture, my maids, never was seen so tarmagant a towzer.—Otway, The Atheist (1684); T. Wright.

— Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

The occupation. To towse, or tease, is to clear the fibre of wool from entanglements.

— Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

The Tozers have been established in Ashburton for more than two centimes (W. A.). Moses Tozer was an Ashburton tradesman 200 years ago: a family of the name lived there last century, and the name is still to be found there. (W. A.). Henry Tozar, native of North Tawton, was an eminent 17th century divine (Pr.).

— Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy
DNA test information

Towzer Last Name Facts

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

The surname Towzer is found most in Wales. It may be rendered as:. For other possible spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Towzer? popularity and diffusion

It is the 7,117,718th most commonly held family name world-wide It is held by around 1 in 1,041,077,988 people. The last name Towzer is mostly found in Europe, where 100 percent of Towzer reside; 100 percent reside in Northern Europe and 100 percent reside in British Isles.

The last name is most widespread in Wales, where it is borne by 7 people, or 1 in 442,076. In Wales it is most prevalent in: Gwynedd, where 57 percent are found and Conwy County Borough, where 43 percent are found.

Towzer Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Towzer has changed through the years. In Wales the number of people who held the Towzer last name increased 700 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Phonetically Similar Names

Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ASimilarity (high to low)Similarity (low to high)Prevalent jurisdiction A-ZPrevalent jurisdiction Z-A
SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Tawzer83309/
Towzey8327/
Towser835/
Towger831/
Tawzeer771/
Towcher771/
Towsert771/
Towse731,656/
Towge731/
Towsey67593/
Tavzer6717/
Tawser672/
Towsee672/
Tawcer672/
Tawzie671/
Tevzer671/
Thowse670/
Show All Similar Surnames

Search for Another Surname

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

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 Towzer
  • 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