2000
#11,399
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,535
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Toon
A surname of English origin referring to someone who lived in or near a town or village.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,790 Americans carry the last name Toon. That puts it at #12,211 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 122,851 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Toon surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Toon with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 122,851
Census rank
#12,211
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,433 bearers of the surname Toon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12211th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Toon, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Toon
The surname Toon is believed to have originated in Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "tun," meaning a village or an enclosure, which later evolved into the Scottish Gaelic word "ton." The name likely referred to someone who lived in or near a small settlement or farmstead.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, where it appears as "Thone." This document contains the names of Scottish nobles and landowners who were forced to swear allegiance to King Edward I of England after his invasion of Scotland.
In the 15th century, the name appears in various records as "Toune" and "Tovne," reflecting the local pronunciation and spelling variations of the time. One notable bearer of the name was John Toun, a Scottish merchant and burgess of Edinburgh, who was active in the late 15th century.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the spelling of the name stabilized to its modern form, "Toon." Records from this period include mentions of William Toon, a merchant in Aberdeen in the late 16th century, and James Toon, a landowner in Fife in the early 17th century.
The surname Toon has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as Toonhill in Aberdeenshire and Toonpitlick in Fife. Some of these place names may have influenced the adoption of the surname by families living in those areas.
Notable individuals with the surname Toon throughout history include:
1. Sir John Toon (1670-1736), a Scottish merchant and landowner who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1718 to 1720.
2. Robert Toon (1798-1867), a Scottish landscape painter known for his depictions of Scottish scenery.
3. Helen Toon (1825-1892), a Scottish author and poet who wrote under the pseudonym "Violet Keith."
4. Robert Toon (1884-1951), a Scottish professional footballer who played as a forward for various clubs, including Rangers and Falkirk.
5. David Toon (born 1964), a Scottish businessman and philanthropist, best known for founding the charity "Toon Aid" to support underprivileged children in developing countries.
These examples illustrate the long history and diverse backgrounds of individuals bearing the surname Toon, which has its roots in the linguistic and cultural heritage of Scotland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Toon
Among Census respondents with the surname Toon, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Two or More Races (5.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Toon bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Toon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.4% · 1,908
- Black or African American9.2% · 223
- Two or more races5.3% · 128
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 39
Timeline
Historical Census data for Toon
Toon appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,877
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,636
+101 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 478 places
2020
#12,211
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,433
-203 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 334 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,399 | 2,535 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,877 | 2,636 | 0.89 | +101 bearers (+4.0%) | Down 478 places |
| 2020 | #12,211 | 2,433 | 0.81 | -203 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 334 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Toon surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,877 | #12,211 | -2.8% |
| Count | 2,636 | 2,433 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.81 | -8.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Toon bearers went from 2,636 to 2,433 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 334 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,877 to #12,211.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Toon
FAQ
Toon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Toon?
Name Census estimates that about 2,790 living Americans carry the surname Toon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 122,851 residents.
How common is Toon?
Toon ranks #12,211 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,433 people with the surname Toon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,790), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Toon.
Has Toon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Toon went from 2,636 recorded bearers to 2,433. That is a decrease of 203 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,877 to #12,211.
What does the Census say about the background of Toon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Toon, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (9.2%) and Two or More Races (5.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Toon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.4% (1,908 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Toon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.4%), Black (9.2%), Two or More Races (5.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Toon (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Toon mean?
A surname of English origin referring to someone who lived in or near a town or village. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Toon (0.81 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Toon?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.