Thiel
A Germanic masculine name derived from the Old High German word "diol" meaning "servant".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Thiel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Thiel today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thiel births was 1923 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thiel. 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 Thiel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1923
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1923 SSA rank
#4,822
Tracked since 1923
Popularity
Thiel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Thiel 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 Thiel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Thiel
The given name Thiel has its origins in the Germanic languages, particularly in the West Germanic branch. It is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, somewhere around the 8th to 10th centuries AD. The name is derived from the Old High German word "diahal" or "thiahil," which means "servant" or "follower."
Thiel was a popular name among the Germanic tribes that inhabited present-day Germany, the Netherlands, and parts of France during the medieval period. It was often given to individuals who served in households or were part of the retinue of noblemen or royalty.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Thiel can be found in the Carolingian chronicles, which document the lives and events of the Carolingian dynasty that ruled over parts of Europe from the 8th to the 10th centuries. The chronicles mention a nobleman named Thiel who served as a trusted advisor to Charlemagne, the renowned ruler of the Frankish Empire.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the name Thiel remained relatively common in Germanic-speaking regions. Notable historical figures who bore this name include Thiel von Isenburg (1452-1534), a German knight and military commander who fought in the Italian Wars, and Thiel Ulrich (1571-1624), a German scholar and theologian who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Thiel gained popularity in the Netherlands, where it was often spelled as "Thijl" or "Tiel." One of the most famous Dutch figures with this name was Thiel Ulenspiegel (1580-1637), a renowned painter and engraver known for his landscapes and historical scenes.
In the 19th century, the name Thiel was also found in parts of Switzerland and Austria. Notable individuals from this period include Thiel Windisch (1822-1876), a Swiss artist and illustrator, and Thiel Kosten (1841-1919), an Austrian composer and conductor.
Moving into the 20th century, the name Thiel continued to be used, though perhaps not as widely as in previous eras. One notable example is Thiel Brehme (1892-1982), a German-born American artist and sculptor who was part of the Precisionist movement in the United States.
People
Thiel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thiel 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
Thiel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thiel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thiel 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 - US residents.
Is Thiel a common name?
We classify Thiel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Thiel most popular?
The single biggest year for Thiel was 1923, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thiel is about 0 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 Thiel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Thiel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Thiel 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 Thiel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Thiel 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 Thiel 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 Thiel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.