Themis
Greek name meaning "divine law", associated with the Greek goddess of justice.
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Themis. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 66.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Themis today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Themis births was 1916 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Themis. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Themis. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1916
5 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
1975 SSA rank
#6,253
Tracked since 1916
Census
Themis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 231 people with the first name Themis, which placed it at #35,041 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
#35,041
National first-name rank
People counted
231
231 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Themis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Themis is White at 72.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). 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 Themis 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 Themis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.7% · 168
- Hispanic or Latino22.1% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 6
- Black or African American1.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
- Two or more races0.4% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Themis
Themis is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 15 total registrations, 5 (33.3%) were male and 10 (66.7%) were female.
Themis as a male name
- Ranked #6,253 in 1975
- 5 male births in 1975
- Peak: 1975 (5 births)
Themis as a female name
- Ranked #17,409 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1916 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Themis on both sides of the split. Of the 233 people counted with this name, 126 were male (54.1%) and 107 were female (45.9%).
Popularity
Themis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Themis from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Themis 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 Themis 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 Themis
The given name Themis originated from ancient Greek mythology and has its roots in the Greek word 'themis', which means 'divine law' or 'order'. It was the name of the Titan goddess of justice, law, and order in Greek mythology, one of the few deities who survived the overthrow of the Titans by the Olympian gods.
Themis was revered as the personification of divine law, custom, and order, and was considered the embodiment of fairness, law, and natural order. She was often depicted holding a set of scales, symbolizing her role in maintaining balance and justice.
The earliest recorded use of the name Themis can be traced back to ancient Greek literature, where she was mentioned in various works, including Hesiod's 'Theogony' and Homer's 'Iliad'. In these texts, Themis was described as a wise and respected figure who advised the gods and played a crucial role in the establishment of social and moral order.
Throughout history, the name Themis has been borne by various notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded examples is Themis of Cyrene, a Greek poet who lived in the 3rd century BC and was known for her lyrical works. Another prominent bearer of the name was Themis of Laodicea, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 4th century AD and made significant contributions to the field of geometry.
In more recent times, Themis was the name of a 19th-century Greek painter, Theodoros Themis (1823-1888), who is known for his portraits and historical scenes. Additionally, Themis Veliou-Gkorra (1848-1892) was a renowned Greek feminist and activist who fought for women's rights and education in Greece.
Another notable individual with the name Themis was Themis Pnevmatikos (1888-1977), a Greek politician and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 1963 to 1964. He played a significant role in the country's political landscape during a turbulent period in its history.
While the name Themis has its origins in ancient Greek mythology and culture, it has transcended its historical roots and has been adopted by individuals across various cultures and time periods, serving as a testament to the enduring influence of Greek mythology and the timeless values of justice and order.
People
Themis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Themis 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
Themis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Themis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Themis 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Themis a common name?
We classify Themis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Themis most popular?
The single biggest year for Themis was 1916, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Themis is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Themis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 231 people with the name Themis, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,041 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 Themis 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 Themis?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Themis on both sides of the split. Of the 233 people counted with this name, 126 were male (54.1%) and 107 were female (45.9%). 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 Themis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Themis is White at 72.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). 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 Themis most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Themis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.7% (168 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 Themis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Themis a female name?
Yes, 66.7% of people registered as Themis 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.
Is Themis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Themis 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 Themis 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 share the name Themis?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.