An English surname the Townsend family name comes from the Middle English term of ‘touun’ which means a hamlet or village and ‘ende’ which means end.

Spelling variations for Townsend include Tonsend, Townend, Townshend, Towneend, Tunsend, Townshend, Touunend and Townsende.

The Townsend name originated in the Norfolk and Yorkshire regions of England. From there it spread to Lancashire, Essex, London, Devon, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire. In Scotland the Townsend name is mostly in the Roxburghshire and Lanarkshire areas.
The states of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have the greater numbers of Townsend families in the United States. The surname is also located in lesser numbers in most of the central and southern states.

Famous: Francis Everett Townsend (first to propose a pension for old-age which became the Social Security system), Anna Townsend (silent movie actress), Bill Townsend (developer of search engine Lycos and the Sixdegrees.com company), Dallas S. Townsend (TV news journalist), Eric W. Townsend (musician and record producer), John Townsend (professional basketball player), Robert Townsend (18th century spy for the Americans during the American Revolutionary War) and Primi Townsend (English actress).