2000
#23,264
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,023
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.38
Rare Last name
Trousdale
A locational surname originating from someone who lived near a valley.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,183 Americans carry the last name Trousdale. That puts it at #25,153 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 289,733 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Trousdale 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 Trousdale with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.2K
1 in 289,733
Census rank
#25,153
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,032 bearers of the surname Trousdale in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 25153rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Trousdale, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Trousdale
The surname Trousdale is of Scottish origin, derived from the place name "Trows Dale" or "Trowis Dale", a valley or dale in the Scottish Borders region. The name can be traced back to the 12th century, with the earliest recorded spelling being "de Trouisdale" in 1214.
The name is believed to have originated from the Old English words "trog" or "trog-vale", meaning a hollow or valley, combined with the Norse word "dalr", meaning a dale or valley. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived in or came from a particular valley or dale.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a land survey commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are no direct references to the name Trousdale. However, there are mentions of similar place names in Scotland, such as "Trouerwich" and "Trowene", which may be related to the origin of the surname.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Trousdale can be found in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, which mentions a John de Trouisdale in 1365. Another early reference is the mention of a Adam de Trousdale in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls to Edward I of England.
Notable individuals with the surname Trousdale throughout history include:
1. Sir William Trousdale (c. 1570-1638), a Scottish soldier and landowner who served under King James VI of Scotland and later King James I of England.
2. John Trousdale (1609-1659), a Scottish Presbyterian minister and religious writer.
3. William Trousdale (1790-1872), an American politician and soldier who served as the 12th Governor of Tennessee from 1849 to 1851.
4. Grenville Mellen Trousdale (1835-1898), an American lawyer and Union Army officer during the American Civil War.
5. Gary Trousdale (born 1960), an American animator and film director known for his work on Disney animated films such as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Atlantis: The Lost Empire".
The surname Trousdale has been prominent in various parts of Scotland, particularly in the Scottish Borders region, as well as in parts of England and Ireland. Over time, the name has also spread to other parts of the world, including the United States and Canada, due to immigration and migration patterns.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Trousdale
Among Census respondents with the surname Trousdale, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Trousdale 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 Trousdale surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.7% · 895
- Two or more races5.2% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 16
- Black or African American1.0% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Trousdale
Trousdale 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
#23,618
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,074
+51 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.36
Rank movement Down 354 places
2020
#25,153
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,032
-42 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 0.35
Rank movement Down 1,535 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #23,264 | 1,023 | 0.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #23,618 | 1,074 | 0.36 | +51 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 354 places |
| 2020 | #25,153 | 1,032 | 0.35 | -42 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 1,535 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 Trousdale 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 | #23,618 | #25,153 | -6.5% |
| Count | 1,074 | 1,032 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.36 | 0.35 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Trousdale bearers went from 1,074 to 1,032 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 1,535 positions in the national ranking, going from #23,618 to #25,153.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Trousdale
FAQ
Trousdale surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Trousdale?
Name Census estimates that about 1,183 living Americans carry the surname Trousdale. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 289,733 residents.
How common is Trousdale?
Trousdale ranks #25,153 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.35 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 1,032 people with the surname Trousdale. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,183), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.35 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 Trousdale.
Has Trousdale become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Trousdale went from 1,074 recorded bearers to 1,032. That is a decrease of 42 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #23,618 to #25,153.
What does the Census say about the background of Trousdale?
Among Census respondents with the surname Trousdale, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Trousdale in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.7% (895 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Trousdale appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.7%), Two or More Races (5.2%), Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Trousdale (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 Trousdale mean?
A locational surname originating from someone who lived near a valley. 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 Trousdale (0.35 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 common is the surname Trousdale?
See how many people have the last name Trousdale on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.