2000
#7,242
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,248
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.57
Rare Last name
Towers
An occupational surname referring to someone who lived or worked in a tower or was a watchman.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,784 Americans carry the last name Towers. That puts it at #7,648 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 71,646 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Towers 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 Towers with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.8K
1 in 71,646
Census rank
#7,648
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,172 bearers of the surname Towers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7648th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Towers, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Hispanic (6.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Towers
The surname Towers is of English origin and derives from the Old English word "tor" meaning a rock or rocky peak, which evolved into the word "tower" in Middle English. It is a locational surname, indicating that the earliest bearers of this name lived near a prominent tower or rocky outcrop.
The name can be traced back to the 13th century, with one of the earliest recorded instances being Walter atte Towere, mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275. The prefix "atte" was a common Middle English indicator of residence or origin.
Several places in England are thought to have contributed to the surname's development, including the village of Tower in Lancashire and the hamlet of Towers in Warwickshire. The name may also have derived from geographical features like the Tor Hill in Glastonbury, Somerset.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are references to places like "La Tur" in Lincolnshire and "Ture" in Dorset, which could be related to the surname's origins.
Notable historical figures with the surname Towers include:
1. John Towers (c.1609-1649), an English writer and translator who was executed for his Royalist sympathies during the English Civil War.
2. Joseph Towers (1737-1799), an English dissenting minister and biographer, best known for his work on British biography.
3. William Towers (1617-1666), an English-born clergyman who became the first Anglican Bishop of Barbados.
4. Joseph Meredith Toner (1825-1896), an American physician and bibliographer, born Joseph Meredith Towers.
5. Ralston Towers (1905-1969), an American screenwriter and film producer active in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s.
The surname Towers has been well-represented throughout history, with bearers hailing from diverse professions and backgrounds, reflecting the name's enduring presence in the English-speaking world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Towers
Among Census respondents with the surname Towers, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Hispanic (6.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Towers 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 Towers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.8% · 3,204
- Black or African American10.9% · 454
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 258
- Two or more races5.0% · 208
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Towers
Towers 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
#7,565
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,392
+144 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 1.49
Rank movement Down 323 places
2020
#7,648
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,172
-220 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.40
Rank movement Down 83 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,242 | 4,248 | 1.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,565 | 4,392 | 1.49 | +144 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 323 places |
| 2020 | #7,648 | 4,172 | 1.40 | -220 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 83 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 Towers 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 | #7,565 | #7,648 | -1.1% |
| Count | 4,392 | 4,172 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.49 | 1.40 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Towers bearers went from 4,392 to 4,172 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 83 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,565 to #7,648.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Towers
FAQ
Towers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Towers?
Name Census estimates that about 4,784 living Americans carry the surname Towers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 71,646 residents.
How common is Towers?
Towers ranks #7,648 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.40 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 4,172 people with the surname Towers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,784), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.40 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 Towers.
Has Towers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Towers went from 4,392 recorded bearers to 4,172. That is a decrease of 220 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,565 to #7,648.
What does the Census say about the background of Towers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Towers, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Hispanic (6.2%). 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 Towers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.8% (3,204 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Towers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.8%), Black (10.9%), Hispanic (6.2%). 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 Towers (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 Towers mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who lived or worked in a tower or was a watchman. 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 Towers (1.40 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 people have the surname Towers?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.