Find out how popular the first name Thang has been for the last 48 years (from 1976 to 2023) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Popularity of Thang by gender

Based on the last 48 years of data, Thang is more commonly used as a male name, with approximately 96% of people named Thang being male.

For the most recent data in 2023, there were 29 male babies and 7 female babies born with the name Thang.

Yes—according to the SSA data, 7 baby girls were named Thang in 2023, despite it being a predominantly male name. We'd love to know why!

The history of the first name Thang

The name Thang is derived from the Old Norse word "þang," which means "seaweed" or "kelp." This suggests that the name has its origins among the seafaring Norse people, who inhabited the coastal regions of Scandinavia and Northern Europe during the Viking Age (8th to 11th centuries).

Interestingly, the name Thang appears in several ancient Icelandic sagas and Norse legends, often associated with characters or figures connected to the sea or maritime life. For instance, in the Saga of Grettir the Strong, a renowned Icelandic saga from the 13th century, there is a minor character named Thang Oddsson, a fisherman from the Westfjords region of Iceland.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Thang dates back to the 10th century, when a Viking chieftain named Thang Haraldsson is mentioned in the Landnámabók (Book of Settlements), a medieval Icelandic manuscript detailing the settlement of Iceland by Norse explorers and their descendants.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Thang. One of the most famous was Thang the Red (c. 950 – 1014), a legendary Viking warrior and explorer from Norway, renowned for his voyages to Greenland and North America, long before the celebrated journey of Leif Erikson.

Another prominent figure was Thang Sigurdsson (c. 1130 – 1195), a Norwegian nobleman and military commander who played a crucial role in the Norwegian Civil War of the late 12th century, supporting the cause of King Sverre Sigurdsson against the Birkebeiner faction.

In the realm of literature, one cannot overlook Thang Oddsson (1857 – 1935), an acclaimed Icelandic poet and novelist, whose works were instrumental in reviving the ancient poetic traditions of the Norse sagas and preserving the cultural heritage of Iceland.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning Thang Gudmundsson (1901 – 1983), a renowned Icelandic explorer and adventurer, who gained fame for his daring expeditions to Greenland and the Arctic regions, following in the footsteps of the Viking explorers of old.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Thang was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Thang, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!