Tou
A masculine name of Cambodian origin meaning "grandchild" or "little one".
Name Census estimates that about 1,214 living Americans carry the first name Tou. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tou today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tou births was 1990 (82 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tou. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 282,335 Americans
Peak year
1990
82 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2015 SSA rank
#11,954
Tracked since 1980
Census
Tou in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,127 people with the first name Tou, which placed it at #7,237 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#7,237
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,127 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
97.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tou
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tou is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Black (0.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Tou described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Tou at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander97.5% · 2,073
- White1.2% · 25
- Black or African American0.8% · 18
- Two or more races0.3% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 4
Popularity
Tou: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tou from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 578 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tou by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Tou during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tous live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Minnesota, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Tou, while Rhode Island, Michigan, Wisconsin recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 204 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tou
The name Tou has its origins in several ancient cultures and languages. It is believed to have derived from the Chinese word "tou," meaning "head" or "leader." The name was particularly popular in ancient China, where it was used to denote someone of high status or authority.
In ancient Egyptian culture, the name Tou was also used, although its exact meaning is unclear. Some scholars suggest it may have been related to the Egyptian word "tou," meaning "to rise" or "to ascend," possibly indicating someone of elevated rank or spiritual significance.
The name Tou can be traced back to ancient texts and records from various civilizations. In the Chinese classic text "The Analects of Confucius," written around the 5th century BCE, there is a reference to a person named Tou Ying, who was a disciple of Confucius. Additionally, in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, the name Tou appears in several inscriptions and tomb engravings, although the identities of these individuals are often lost to history.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Tou was Tou Yao, a Chinese philosopher and historian who lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE). He is known for his work "Chunqiu Fanlu," a commentary on the ancient Chinese text "The Spring and Autumn Annals."
Another notable figure was Tou Diên, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and scholar who lived during the 17th century (1628-1696). He was renowned for his contributions to the development of the Nôm script, a writing system used in Vietnam for centuries.
In ancient Greece, there was a philosopher named Tou from the city of Samos, who lived around the 6th century BCE. Although little is known about his life, he is mentioned by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus as being a contemporary of the philosopher Thales.
During the medieval period, there was a Benedictine monk named Tou de Champagne (1020-1089), who played a significant role in the reform of monastic life in France. He is particularly remembered for his work in establishing the Abbey of Cluny as a center of spiritual and intellectual influence.
Finally, in the realm of literature, there was a Japanese poet named Tou Fujiwara (1114-1201), who was a prominent figure in the late Heian period. He is best known for his contributions to the imperial anthology of Japanese poetry, the "Shinkokinshū."
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Tou, showcasing its diverse cultural and linguistic origins, as well as its presence across various fields and eras.
People
Tou + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tou as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tou: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tou?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,214 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tou going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 282,335 US residents.
Is Tou a common name?
We classify Tou as "Rare". It ranks above 91.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,254 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tou most popular?
The single biggest year for Tou was 1990, when 82 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tou is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tou in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,127 people with the name Tou, or 0.70 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,237 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Tou in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Tou?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tou leans strongly male. 2,071 people counted with this name were male (97.2%), compared with 60 female bearers (2.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Tou?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tou is Asian/Pacific Islander at 97.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and Black (0.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Tou most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Tou in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.5% (2,073 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Tou in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tou a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tou in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Tou still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tou in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Tou can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Tou?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.