The name "two-step" evolved from a French term, "valse a' deux temps," which means "waltz of two beats." It has a pattern of two quick steps followed by a slower step. The name comes from the two quick steps. The dance was not quickly accepted, as the public felt it looked jerky when danced to waltz music. In 1847, the author of the dance, Henri Cellarius, wrote in his book "La Dance des Salons" that he wished he had called it the "deux pas" or two-step instead, since this described the dance more accurately. The name two-step became more common after this.
The precursor of the two-step, the waltz, was banned in many countries after its first appearance in the 1600s. It was one of the first dances to allow the man and woman to touch each other's waists and was considered scandalous at the time. By the 1800s, the waltz was becoming more acceptable, and once the two-step was renamed in the middle of the century, most people who danced already knew how to waltz. This made the transition to two-step, and later couple dance, more acceptable in society.
The initial failure of the two-step turned into success after the name change and the advent of new music. In 1891, John Phillip Sousa published the Washington Post March. The tempo of this march was better suited to the two-step than older waltz tunes, and dancers increasingly turned to the two-step. When the popularity of Sousa's marches waned, people who wanted to keep dancing the two-step did it to foxtrot music, since the foxtrot was the new trend at that time. The two-step persisted in country dances throughout the 20th century, even after it fell out of use in large cities.
Texas two-step is a dance pattern used in square dancing. The "two-step" in Texas two-step refers to the pattern of the dance, and not its roots. This pattern is quick-quick slow-slow, while the two-step remains as it began, with a pattern of quick-quick-slow. The Texas two-step evolved from the collegiate foxtrot of the 1910s and 1920s, rather than directly from the waltz or the two-step. This gives the Texas two-step a bouncing movement, while the two-step itself is more like gliding.