2000
#19,515
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,280
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.47
Rare Last name
Tremaine
A French surname meaning "from Trémaine", a place in northwestern France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,347 Americans carry the last name Tremaine. That puts it at #22,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.39 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 254,458 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tremaine 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 Tremaine with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.3K
1 in 254,458
Census rank
#22,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,175 bearers of the surname Tremaine in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.39 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 22446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tremaine, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tremaine
The surname Tremaine has its origins in the French language and is believed to have been derived from the Old French place name "Tresmaine" or "Tremaine." This place name was likely a combination of the elements "tres" meaning "very" and "maine" meaning "manor" or "domain."
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Tremaine can be traced back to the Normandy region of northern France. It is thought that the name may have been brought to England by Norman settlers following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners in England compiled in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname Tremaine, suggesting that it may have emerged slightly later.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Tremaine was Sir Roger Tremaine, a prominent English landowner and knight who lived during the 13th century. Sir Roger was granted lands in Cornwall and is believed to have been the progenitor of the Tremaine family in England.
Another notable figure was Sir John Tremaine (c. 1455-1518), who served as a member of the English Privy Council under King Henry VII and King Henry VIII. Sir John played a significant role in the suppression of the Cornish Rebellion of 1497 and was rewarded with additional estates in Cornwall.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, the Tremaine family supported the Royalist cause. One prominent Royalist was Sir Edmond Tremaine (1598-1655), who fought alongside King Charles I and was later exiled to France after the Parliamentarian victory.
In the 18th century, Andrew Tremaine (1715-1795) was a renowned English horticulturist and botanist who introduced several new plant species to Britain from North America. He was also a founding member of the Society of Gardeners, a precursor to the Royal Horticultural Society.
Another notable individual was Sir Edmund Tremaine (1853-1935), a British diplomat who served as the British Ambassador to Russia from 1909 to 1917. He played a crucial role in maintaining diplomatic relations between Britain and Russia during the tumultuous years leading up to and during World War I.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tremaine
Among Census respondents with the surname Tremaine, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Tremaine 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 Tremaine surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.3% · 1,037
- Two or more races4.2% · 49
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 27
- Black or African American1.2% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tremaine
Tremaine 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
#20,299
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,310
+30 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.44
Rank movement Down 784 places
2020
#22,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,175
-135 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.39
Rank movement Down 2,147 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #19,515 | 1,280 | 0.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #20,299 | 1,310 | 0.44 | +30 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 784 places |
| 2020 | #22,446 | 1,175 | 0.39 | -135 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 2,147 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 Tremaine 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 | #20,299 | #22,446 | -10.6% |
| Count | 1,310 | 1,175 | -10.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.44 | 0.39 | -10.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tremaine bearers went from 1,310 to 1,175 (-10.3% change). The surname moved down 2,147 positions in the national ranking, going from #20,299 to #22,446.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Tremaine
FAQ
Tremaine surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tremaine?
Name Census estimates that about 1,347 living Americans carry the surname Tremaine. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 254,458 residents.
How common is Tremaine?
Tremaine ranks #22,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.39 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,175 people with the surname Tremaine. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,347), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.39 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.39 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Tremaine.
Has Tremaine become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tremaine went from 1,310 recorded bearers to 1,175. That is a decrease of 135 (-10.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #20,299 to #22,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Tremaine?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tremaine, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Tremaine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (1,037 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tremaine appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.3%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Tremaine (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 Tremaine mean?
A French surname meaning "from Trémaine", a place in northwestern France. 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 Tremaine (0.39 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 last name Tremaine?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Tremaine at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.