2000
#57,544
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 331
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.12
Very Rare Last name
Tweedle
A surname possibly derived from the Middle English word "twydyll" meaning "fork" or "twine."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 359 Americans carry the last name Tweedle. That puts it at #67,846 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 954,747 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tweedle 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 Tweedle with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
359
1 in 954,747
Census rank
#67,846
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
313
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 313 bearers of the surname Tweedle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 67846th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tweedle, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tweedle
The surname Tweedle originated in England during the late medieval period. It is derived from an old English word "twydlen" which referred to a fork in a road or a river. This suggests the name may have described someone who lived near such a natural feature.
Tweedle is believed to have first appeared in written records in the county of Lancashire in northern England, around the 13th century. The earliest known bearer was Walter ate Twydlen, recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of 1332. Similar early spellings included Twydelane, Twidlane, and Twydleyn.
No references to the name Tweedle appear in the renowned Domesday Book from 1086, indicating it emerged later during the Middle Ages. However, it is found in manorial records from the 14th and 15th centuries in areas around Manchester and Bolton in Lancashire.
Notable early figures with this surname include John Twedyll, born around 1490 in Sowerby, Yorkshire. He served as a church warden in his local parish. Another was Thomas Twydelyne, a landowner from Blackburn, Lancashire mentioned in tax records from 1524.
Moving into the 16th century, one Richard Tweedell achieved minor fame as the keeper of the royal forest of Rowland in Yorkshire, appointed in 1559 under Queen Elizabeth I's reign. Later came William Twydell (1607-1677), a respected merchant and alderman in London.
Over subsequent centuries, the Tweedle name spread gradually across England, though remaining most prevalent in the northern counties. By the 1800s, documented examples can be found of the family scattered across industrial towns and cities like Manchester, Leeds, and Sheffield. One Henry Tweedle (1809-1878) rose to become an esteemed mathematics teacher in Manchester.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tweedle
Among Census respondents with the surname Tweedle, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Hispanic (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Tweedle 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 Tweedle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.8% · 253
- Black or African American11.2% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 17
- Two or more races2.6% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tweedle
Tweedle 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
#55,841
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 367
+36 bearers (+10.9%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Up 1,703 places
2020
#67,846
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 313
-54 bearers (-14.7%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 12,005 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #57,544 | 331 | 0.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #55,841 | 367 | 0.12 | +36 bearers (+10.9%) | Up 1,703 places |
| 2020 | #67,846 | 313 | 0.10 | -54 bearers (-14.7%) | Down 12,005 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 Tweedle 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 | #55,841 | #67,846 | -21.5% |
| Count | 367 | 313 | -14.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 0.10 | -12.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tweedle bearers went from 367 to 313 (-14.7% change). The surname moved down 12,005 positions in the national ranking, going from #55,841 to #67,846.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Tweedle
FAQ
Tweedle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tweedle?
Name Census estimates that about 359 living Americans carry the surname Tweedle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 954,747 residents.
How common is Tweedle?
Tweedle ranks #67,846 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.10 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 313 people with the surname Tweedle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (359), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.10 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 Tweedle.
Has Tweedle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tweedle went from 367 recorded bearers to 313. That is a decrease of 54 (-14.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #55,841 to #67,846.
What does the Census say about the background of Tweedle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tweedle, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Tweedle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.8% (253 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tweedle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.8%), Black (11.2%), Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Tweedle (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 Tweedle mean?
A surname possibly derived from the Middle English word "twydyll" meaning "fork" or "twine." 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 Tweedle (0.10 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 Tweedle?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.