The Totten surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,828 people carried this name — #5,125 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 43,300 people counted. That is up 3% from 6,600 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Totten surname

A surname transferred from the nickname.

Possibly from a diminutive of the nickname totte (“simpleton, fool”).

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

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 17 births for the Totten name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 800 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The count includes the spelling Totton.

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 17

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

In Scotland’s registers today

Totten was recorded 13 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1564th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. 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

36 families named Totten, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 166 people lived in those households, 4.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. 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

New York 27
Connecticut 2
Pennsylvania 2
Virginia 2
Rhode Island 1
Maryland 1
South Carolina 1

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

Totten in American newspapers,
1921.

Newspaper page from Smyrna Times carrying the name Totten
Smyrna Times 1921-11-23
Newspaper page from Evening Journal carrying the name Totten
Evening Journal 1921-11-11
Newspaper page from Evening Journal carrying the name Totten
Evening Journal 1921-11-12

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 77,744 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Totten in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1970s.

1,834 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Totten. The most, 357, date from the 1890s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 4.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 1,213
New South Wales 241
South Australia 144
Victoria 143
Tasmania 45
Western Australia 35
ACT (Canberra) 9

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

Who carried it

People named Totten,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Joseph Gilbert Totten
    Joseph Gilbert Totten 1788–1864 · military officer
  • Silas Totten
    Silas Totten 1804–1873 · teacher
  • Ephraim J. Totten
    Ephraim J. Totten 1806–1891 · merchant
  • George Muirson Totten
    George Muirson Totten 1809–1884 · engineer
  • Archibald W. O. Totten 1809–1867
  • John A. Totten 1812–1862

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Totten,
in the records of 6 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 States813 records

813 records of the Totten name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 314
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 245
  • Other U.S. records 254
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Clarence Totten

    Born 1923 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at New York City; metal worker from Kings County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1976, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Randy Gene Totten

    Born 1945; from Reed City, Michigan. U.S. Marine Corps, radio telegraph operator; killed in action 1966 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Eliza Totten

    Arrived at New York in 1879 aboard the Devonia from Glasgow, aged 19; weaver. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 813 records for Totten in the United States.

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

Canada381 records

381 records of the Totten name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 352
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 7
  • Other Canadian records 22
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Peter Totten

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Thetis, bound for Fort Cumberland, aged 28.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Annie May Totten

    Buried in 1946 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 70.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Bernard Miller Totten

    Died in service in 1945.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 381 records for Totten in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia40 records

40 records of the Totten name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 22
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 14
  • Other Australian records 4
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Jas Totten

    Arrived in Queensland in 1900 aboard the Duke of Devonshire, aged 27.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Leonard Jones Totten

    Retired of Kensington, Victoria; died 1972.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record A. I. Totten

    Australian Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 40 records for Totten in Australia.

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Germany7 records

7 records of the Totten name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Hubert Totten

    From Neersen, M. Gladbach. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 14 December 1915 (Landwehr Infantry Regiment No. 57).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Karl Totten

    From Kapstadt, Südafrika. Reported dead in the Württemberg casualty list of 3 September 1919 (Field Artillery Regiment No. 29).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 2 of 7 records for Totten in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Totten name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Totten

    Royal Irish Rifles. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. Totten

    Manchester Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. Totten

    King's (Liverpool Regiment). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Totten name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Hendrick Totten

    Buried in 1610 in Delft.

    Open Archives, Archief Delft (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Anna Maria Barbara Totten

    In the population register of Eindhoven; born 1905 in Meerssen.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Eindhoven (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Totten.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Totten 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.

See the Totten volume
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