Thailan
From Thai meaning "freedom" or "independent".
Name Census estimates that about 143 living Americans carry the first name Thailan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Thailan today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thailan births was 2001 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thailan. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
143
~ 1 in 2,396,883 Americans
Peak year
2001
16 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,843
Tracked since 2000
Census
Thailan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 150 people with the first name Thailan, which placed it at #45,340 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#45,340
National first-name rank
People counted
150
150 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
64.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thailan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thailan is Black at 64.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.3%) and White (10.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Thailan described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Thailan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American64.7% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.3% · 17
- White10.7% · 16
- Two or more races8.7% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 7
Popularity
Thailan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Thailan from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 89 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Thailan by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Thailan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Thailan
The name Thailan has its roots in the ancient Thai language, originating from the region that is now modern-day Thailand. It is derived from the word "thai," which means "free" or "liberated," and "lan," which translates to "prosperity" or "flourishing." This suggests that the name carries a symbolic meaning of freedom and abundance.
The earliest known reference to the name Thailan can be found in the Sukhothai inscriptions, a collection of stone engravings from the 13th century that documented the history and culture of the Sukhothai Kingdom, one of the earliest Thai kingdoms. These inscriptions mention individuals with names similar to Thailan, indicating that the name has been in use for centuries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Thailan was a Buddhist monk who lived in the 15th century during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. He was known for his wisdom and his efforts in spreading Buddhism throughout the region. Another notable figure was Thailan Phetchaburi, a respected military commander who served under King Narai of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 17th century.
In the 18th century, Thailan Thonburi was a prominent merchant and trader who played a key role in establishing trade routes between Thailand and neighboring countries. His legacy can be seen in the flourishing trade networks that still exist today.
During the 19th century, Thailan Siam was a renowned scholar and linguist who made significant contributions to the preservation and documentation of the Thai language. His work helped to establish a standardized writing system and laid the foundation for modern Thai linguistics.
In more recent history, Thailan Chakri was a respected diplomat and statesman who served as the Thai ambassador to several countries in the mid-20th century. He was instrumental in strengthening Thailand's diplomatic ties with other nations and promoting international cooperation.
While the name Thailan may not be as common today as it once was, it carries a rich historical significance and represents the resilience and prosperity of the Thai people throughout the ages.
People
Thailan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thailan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Thailan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thailan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 143 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thailan going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,396,883 US residents.
Is Thailan a common name?
We classify Thailan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 145 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Thailan most popular?
The single biggest year for Thailan was 2001, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thailan is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Thailan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 150 people with the name Thailan, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,340 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Thailan in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Thailan?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Thailan on both sides of the split. Of the 148 people counted with this name, 109 were male (73.6%) and 39 were female (26.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Thailan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thailan is Black at 64.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.3%) and White (10.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Thailan most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Thailan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.7% (97 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Thailan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Thailan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Thailan in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Thailan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Thailan in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Thailan can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Thailan?
Find out how many people share the name Thailan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.