Torrence
A surname that may come from a Scottish place name, though in Irish families it was also used as a form of Terence.
The #5,425 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 48,099 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical clue is the Scottish place name Torrance, found in Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire; surnames from such places often began as locative bynames. However, 19th-century surname writers also note Torrence as an Irish form of Terence, ultimately linked with Irish Toirdhealbhach in older usage. In practice, the surname may have more than one origin, depending on the family line.
History
The name is recorded in several spellings, including Torrance, Torrens, Torrans, and Torrins. Scottish local associations are supported by the place-name connection, while Irish usage likely developed independently as an anglicized personal-name surname. Because of these parallel streams, different Torrence families may not share a single origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 1912 surname dictionary explicitly links Torrence both to Scottish place names and to an Irish personal-name tradition, showing how one spelling can hide several different family histories.
From the historical record
“TORRANCE i : TORRENCE pi. TORRENS J There are places called Torrance in cos. Lanark and Stirling. 2 Irish var. of Terence, q.v., and, like it, used for the Ir. Toirdhealbhach : v. Torley. TORRIEl I like Terry', a contr. of Theo- TORRY J doric, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)