Thielen
A Germanic given name derived from a personal name meaning "little one".
Name Census estimates that about 111 living Americans carry the first name Thielen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Thielen today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thielen births was 2019 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thielen. 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.
People living today
111
~ 1 in 3,087,877 Americans
Peak year
2019
34 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,877
Tracked since 2018
Popularity
Thielen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Thielen from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 57 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
Thielen 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 Thielen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Thielens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Thielen
The name Thielen is of German origin, deriving from the Old High German words "thegan" meaning "servant" or "attendant" and "lind" meaning "soft" or "gentle". It likely originated in the Middle Ages as a surname given to servants or attendants known for their gentle demeanor.
In the 13th century, the name appears in records from the regions of Bavaria and Saxony in present-day Germany. Similar spellings such as Thielenn, Thyelen, and Thiellin are found in various medieval texts and documents from this era.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Thielen was Johannes Thielen, a German monk and scholar who lived from 1475 to 1537. He was a notable figure in the Catholic Church during the Reformation and wrote several treatises defending the Church's teachings.
In the 16th century, a German artist named Hans Thielen (1533-1601) gained recognition for his intricate woodcarvings and religious sculptures adorning churches across southern Germany.
During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), a military officer named Wilhelm Thielen (1592-1653) served in the Swedish army and played a role in several key battles against the Holy Roman Empire.
In the 18th century, a German composer and organist named Johann Thielen (1737-1824) made significant contributions to the development of church music, composing numerous choral works and organ pieces.
Another notable figure was Friedrich Thielen (1816-1892), a German politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the North German Confederation in the 1860s.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Thielen, which has its roots in the German language and culture, likely originating as a descriptive surname for servants or attendants known for their gentle nature.
People
Thielen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thielen 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
Thielen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thielen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 111 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thielen 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 3,087,877 US residents.
Is Thielen a common name?
We classify Thielen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 112 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Thielen most popular?
The single biggest year for Thielen was 2019, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thielen is about 6 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 Thielen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Thielen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Thielen 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 Thielen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Thielen 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 Thielen 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 share the name Thielen?
You can see how many people share the name Thielen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.