Thanos
An English masculine name from Greek mythology meaning "immortal".
Name Census estimates that about 104 living Americans carry the first name Thanos. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Thanos today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thanos births was 2019 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thanos. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Thanos with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
104
~ 1 in 3,295,715 Americans
Peak year
2019
18 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,966
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Thanos: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Thanos from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 68 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Thanos 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 Thanos 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 Thanos
The name Thanos is rooted in ancient Greek mythology and culture. It is believed to derive from the Greek word "thanatos," which means "death" or "non-violent death." This connection to mortality and the afterlife suggests the name may have been associated with deities or figures related to the concept of death in ancient Greek belief systems.
Historical records indicate the name Thanos was used as early as the 5th century BC in ancient Greece, although it was relatively uncommon. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Thanos of Colophon, a Greek lyric poet who lived around 480 BC. His work is now lost, but he was mentioned by ancient writers such as Strabo and Athenaeus.
In the 3rd century BC, another notable figure named Thanos emerged – a Greek historian and biographer from the island of Lesbos. His writings focused on the lives of famous philosophers and intellectuals, but unfortunately, most of his works have not survived to the present day.
Moving forward in time, a Thanos is mentioned in the New Testament as one of the seventy disciples sent out by Jesus Christ, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. While little is known about this individual, his inclusion in the biblical text suggests the name held significance within early Christian communities.
During the Byzantine era, a Thanos was recorded as a high-ranking military officer who served under the Emperor Basil II in the late 10th century. He played a role in the Byzantine campaigns against the Bulgarians and was noted for his bravery and strategic skills.
In more recent history, a Thanos Tsingos was a Greek revolutionary who fought against Ottoman rule in the early 19th century. He was a prominent figure in the Greek War of Independence and played a crucial role in the liberation of several regions in central Greece.
While the name Thanos has maintained a presence throughout Greek history, it has remained relatively uncommon compared to other Greek names. Its strong ties to ancient mythology and the concept of death have likely contributed to its unique and distinctive nature.
People
Thanos + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thanos 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
Thanos: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thanos?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 104 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thanos 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 3,295,715 US residents.
Is Thanos a common name?
We classify Thanos as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 105 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Thanos most popular?
The single biggest year for Thanos was 2019, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thanos is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Thanos in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Thanos a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Thanos 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 Thanos still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Thanos 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 Thanos 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Thanos?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Thanos, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.