Thamas
An English masculine name derived from "Thomas", meaning "twin".
Name Census estimates that about 56 living Americans carry the first name Thamas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Thamas today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thamas births was 1952 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thamas. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Thamas is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Thamas' were born before 1963.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Thamas. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
56
~ 1 in 6,120,613 Americans
Peak year
1952
11 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1963 SSA rank
#3,034
Tracked since 1935
Census
Thamas in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 109 people with the first name Thamas, which placed it at #52,143 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
#52,143
National first-name rank
People counted
109
109 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thamas
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thamas is White at 69.7%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and Hispanic (7.3%). 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 Thamas 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 Thamas at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.7% · 76
- Black or African American18.3% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 3
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Popularity
Thamas: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Thamas from the 1930s through to the 1960s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 41 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Thamas remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Thamas 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 Thamas 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 Thamas
The name Thamas is believed to have originated from the ancient Greek language, with its roots traced back to the classical period of ancient Greece, around the 5th century BCE. It is thought to be derived from the Greek word "thaumazō," which means "to wonder" or "to marvel."
This name was not particularly common in ancient Greek texts or records, but it did make a few appearances. One notable example is Thamas, a prince of Egypt mentioned in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. However, it is unclear whether this was an actual name or a title used by the prince.
The earliest recorded use of the name Thamas as a given name is from the 3rd century BCE, when it was borne by Thamas, a Greco-Bactrian prince who ruled in parts of modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. This prince is mentioned in several ancient Greek and Bactrian inscriptions and coins from the time.
In the 1st century CE, there was a Roman senator named Thamas who served during the reign of Emperor Nero. He is mentioned in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus.
During the Byzantine period, there was a prominent Byzantine general named Thamas who served under Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century CE. He is noted for his victories against the Persians and is mentioned in the historical works of Procopius and Agathias.
In the 12th century CE, there was a Seljuk Turk ruler named Thamas who was the governor of Hamadan in modern-day Iran. He is mentioned in several Persian and Arabic historical chronicles from the time.
Another notable figure with the name Thamas was a 16th-century Ottoman statesman and grand vizier, Thamas Pasha. He played a significant role in the Ottoman Empire's diplomatic relations with Europe and is mentioned in various Ottoman and European sources from the period.
While the name Thamas has its roots in ancient Greek, it has been used across different cultures and regions throughout history, often adapted to the local language and spelling conventions. However, it has never been a widely popular name, remaining relatively rare compared to other names from the same linguistic origins.
People
Thamas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thamas 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
Thamas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thamas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 56 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thamas 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 6,120,613 US residents.
Is Thamas a common name?
We classify Thamas as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 89 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Thamas most popular?
The single biggest year for Thamas was 1952, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thamas is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Thamas in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 109 people with the name Thamas, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,143 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 Thamas 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 Thamas?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Thamas appears almost entirely male. Of the 104 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Thamas?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thamas is White at 69.7%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and Hispanic (7.3%). 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 Thamas most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Thamas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.7% (76 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 Thamas in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Thamas a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Thamas 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 Thamas still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Thamas 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 Thamas 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 common is the name Thamas?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.