Thijs
A masculine given name of Dutch origin meaning "the ruler of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 111 living Americans carry the first name Thijs. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Thijs today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thijs births was 2007 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thijs. 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 Thijs with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
111
~ 1 in 3,087,877 Americans
Peak year
2007
18 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,991
Tracked since 2004
Popularity
Thijs: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Thijs from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 57 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Thijs 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 Thijs 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 Thijs
The name Thijs originates from the Dutch language and has its roots in the medieval period. It is a variant of the name Matthijs, which is the Dutch form of the biblical name Matthew, derived from the Hebrew name Mattityahu.
The name Thijs can be traced back to the 12th century in the Low Countries, which includes present-day Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of northern France. It was a popular name among the Dutch-speaking population during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Thijs can be found in the Dutch epic poem "Van den vos Reinaerde" (Reynard the Fox), written in the 13th century. The name appears in this literary work as a character name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Thijs. One of the most famous was Thijs Smolders (1530-1597), a Dutch Catholic priest and theologian who played a significant role in the Counter-Reformation in the Low Countries.
Another notable figure was Thijs Schouteren (1753-1813), a Dutch military officer who served in the Netherlands during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He is particularly known for his role in the Battle of Bergen op Zoom in 1814.
In the world of art, Thijs Maris (1838-1917) was a renowned Dutch painter and etcher, known for his landscapes and cityscapes. He was part of the esteemed Hague School of painters in the 19th century.
Moving into the 20th century, Thijs Wöltgens (1917-1991) was a Dutch cyclist who competed in both track and road cycling events. He won multiple national championships and represented the Netherlands in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.
Another notable Thijs was Thijs Mulder (1939-2022), a Dutch politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives for the Christian Democratic Appeal party from 1977 to 1994.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Thijs, showcasing its enduring presence in Dutch culture and society across various fields.
People
Thijs + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thijs 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
Thijs: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thijs?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 111 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thijs 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 Thijs a common name?
We classify Thijs 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 Thijs most popular?
The single biggest year for Thijs was 2007, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thijs is about 15 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 Thijs in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Thijs a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Thijs 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 Thijs still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Thijs 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 Thijs 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 Thijs?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.