The Todd surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 71,759 people carried this name — #460 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 4,110 people counted. That is up 3% from 69,810 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Todd surname

An English and Scottish surname transferred from the nickname from Middle English tod (“fox”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Todd» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the tod’.

An early record he cites: John le Tod, c. 1300 — Writs of Parliament.

His entry covers Tod and Todd.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 755 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 38 births for the Todd name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,700 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 34
Leinster 3
Munster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 45 people named Todd.

Most of them — 37 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 3 départements, most often Paris.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 37
Paris 6
Savoie 1
Yvelines 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

27 people named Todd live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 14
Geneva 6
Bern 4
Solothurn 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Poland’s population register

24 people named Todd have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 50 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Silesian 8
Masovian 7
Holy Cross 3
Kuyavian-Pomeranian 2
Lesser Poland 2
Pomeranian 2

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the Nordic population registers

34 people named Todd is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 34

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Todd was found among the farmers of 8 counties.

It was most frequent in Northumberland: 51 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 196. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Northumberland 51
Durham 48
Cumberland and Westmorland 47
Yorkshire, North and East Ridings 17
Yorkshire, West Riding 15
Lincolnshire 14
Lancashire 10
Norfolk 7

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland, 1880s

Tod and Todd, counted together, were 35 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 286. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “South of the Firth of Tay and the Clyde.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 595 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Todd was recorded 118 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 209th most common name in those registers. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 187. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

226 families named Todd, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,255 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Connecticut 49
North Carolina 35
Pennsylvania 29
Massachusetts 27
Maryland 22
New York 19
South Carolina 17
Maine 10
New Hampshire 8
Virginia 7
Vermont 3

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 265 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Todd in American newspapers,
1847–1900.

Newspaper page from The Comet carrying the name Todd
The Comet 1879-08-23
Newspaper page from The Honolulu Republican carrying the name Todd
The Honolulu Republican 1900-11-18
Newspaper page from Spirit Of The Age carrying the name Todd
Spirit Of The Age 1847-10-28

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 15,506 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Todd in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

125,285 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Todd. The most, 16,545, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 32,853
New South Wales 28,724
Queensland 26,575
Victoria 22,515
Western Australia 6,961
Tasmania 6,226
ACT (Canberra) 772
Northern Territory 348

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Todd.

Who carried it

People named Todd,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Isaac Todd
    Isaac Todd 1742–1819
  • Thomas Todd
    Thomas Todd 1765–1826 · judge
  • Dolley Madison
    Dolley Madison 1768–1849 · writer
  • Eli Todd
    Eli Todd 1769–1833 · physician
  • Charles Stewart Todd
    Charles Stewart Todd 1791–1871 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 204 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Todd,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States6,073 records

6,073 records of the Todd name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,444
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 1,003
  • Other U.S. records 2,626
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Leo C. Todd

    Born 1930; from Grundy County, Illinois. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; declared dead 1950 in North Korea. Buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Illinois.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record William F. Todd

    Born 1915 in Kentucky. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Thomas Newport; barber from Jefferson County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at Camp Nelson National Cemetery, Kentucky.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary A. Todd

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Anchoria from Glasgow, aged 20; servant. From Armagh, Ireland; bound for Newark.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 6,073 records for Todd in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia2,999 records

2,999 records of the Todd name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,561
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 579
  • Other Australian records 859
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Frances Todd

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Mary, sailing from London in 1831. Native of Alston, Cumberland. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1839. Married 1839 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 31.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Sarah Todd

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Duchess of Northumberland, sailing from Woolwich in 1852. Native of Westmorland. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Thomas Todd

    Died 1886 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 69. Will registered in Tasmania in 1886.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,999 records for Todd in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada432 records

432 records of the Todd name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 193
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 60
  • Other Canadian records 179
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Alex Todd

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Circassian, landing at Quebec, bound for St. Thomas, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Matthew Todd

    Killed in 1941 at the Bras d'Or Mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Arthur W. Todd

    Buried in 1981 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 72.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.

Showing 3 of 432 records for Todd in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom215 records

215 records of the Todd name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 112
  • Stirling Council burial records 55
  • Other British records 48
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Octavius Todd

    Born 1852 at Landour. Served in the First World War. Named in the University of Aberdeen roll of service in the Great War, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Todd

    Buried in 1916 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 82.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Edward Thomas Todd

    Will proved in 1915; of Sutton Coldfield, Warwick.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 215 records for Todd in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand74 records

74 records of the Todd name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 53
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 8
  • Other New Zealand records 13
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Kevin Royce Todd

    Died 1998, aged 75; buried at Picton Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ellen Reddock Todd

    Died 1938, aged 48; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ann Todd

    Buried in 1975 at Buffalo Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 87.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 74 records for Todd in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands23 records

23 records of the Todd name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 11
  • Dutch population registers 9
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 3
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John William Grandfield Todd

    Married in 1932 in Hilversum; company official.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Anna Maria Todd

    Married in 1852 in Oijen en Teeffelen.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 23 records for Todd in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Ireland4 records

4 records of the Todd name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Todd

    Died 1856, aged 64; buried at Clontuskert - St Matthews (CoI), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Edward Todd

    Died 1898; buried at Clontuskert - St Matthews (CoI), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Todd in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France4 records

4 records of the Todd name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Dorothy Thompson Todd

    Born 1905 in Paris; died 1985 in Ballainvilliers (Essonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record George Bissett Traynor Todd

    Born 1955 in Great Britain; died 2000 in Hourtin (Gironde).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Todd in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Todd.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Todd is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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