Thais
Greek origin meaning "woman from Thais, an ancient region of Greece".
Name Census estimates that about 1,542 living Americans carry the first name Thais. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Thais today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thais births was 2001 (84 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thais. 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
1.5K
~ 1 in 222,279 Americans
Peak year
2001
84 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,270
Tracked since 1909
Popularity
Thais: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Thais from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 420 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Thais remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Thais 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 Thais during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Thais' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. New York, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Thais, while Nebraska, Indiana, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 60 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Thais
The name Thais has its origins in Greek mythology and ancient Greek culture. It is derived from the ancient Greek word "Thaïs," which means "a Thracian woman." The name is associated with a legendary Greek courtesan and adventurer from the 4th century BC who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns in Persia.
Thais is mentioned in various ancient Greek texts, including the works of the Greek biographer Plutarch. In his book "Life of Alexander," Plutarch recounts the story of how Thais persuaded Alexander the Great to burn down the palace of Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire, as an act of revenge for the Persian invasion of Greece.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Thais is found in the 4th century BC play "The Eunuch" by the Roman playwright Terence. The play features a character named Thais, who is described as a courtesan from Athens.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Thais. One of the most famous is Thais of Athens, a 4th century BC courtesan and companion of Alexander the Great. Another notable Thais was Thais of Alexandria, a 5th century AD female philosopher and mathematician who taught at the famous Neoplatonic school in Alexandria, Egypt.
In the 17th century, Thais was the name of a character in the play "Phaedra" by the French dramatist Jean Racine (1639-1699). The play was based on the Greek myth of Phaedra and her forbidden love for her stepson Hippolytus.
Another notable Thais was Thais Meiger (1879-1961), a French painter and sculptor who was part of the Fauvist movement in the early 20th century. She was known for her vibrant and expressive works, often depicting scenes of Parisian life.
One of the most famous modern actresses to bear the name Thais was Thais Rodrigues Muniz (1946-2018), a Brazilian actress and television presenter. She was widely regarded as one of the most talented and versatile actresses of her generation in Brazil.
People
Thais + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thais 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
Thais: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thais?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,542 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thais 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 222,279 US residents.
Is Thais a common name?
We classify Thais as "Rare". It ranks above 92.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,199 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Thais most popular?
The single biggest year for Thais was 2001, when 84 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thais is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Thais a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Thais in the SSA data are female. 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.
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.