Thinh
An uncommon Vietnamese masculine name alluding to prosperity and success.
Name Census estimates that about 221 living Americans carry the first name Thinh. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Thinh today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thinh births was 1986 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thinh. 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
221
~ 1 in 1,550,925 Americans
Peak year
1986
13 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2017 SSA rank
#14,055
Tracked since 1978
Census
Thinh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,317 people with the first name Thinh, which placed it at #5,236 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
#5,236
National first-name rank
People counted
3.3K
3,317 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thinh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thinh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.4%. The next largest groups are White (0.7%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Thinh 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 Thinh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.4% · 3,263
- White0.7% · 23
- Two or more races0.5% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 8
- Black or African American0.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Thinh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Thinh from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 71 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Thinh remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Thinh 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 Thinh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Thinhs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Thinh
The name Thinh is believed to have originated from the Vietnamese language. It is a masculine given name that has been in use for several centuries. The name Thinh is derived from the old Vietnamese word "thinh," which means "prosperous" or "flourishing."
In ancient Vietnam, the name Thinh was often given to boys born into wealthy or influential families, as it was seen as a symbol of prosperity and good fortune. The name was particularly popular among the noble classes and the ruling families of the various Vietnamese dynasties.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Thinh can be found in the "Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu," a historical text dating back to the 15th century. This text mentions a high-ranking official named Thinh Ngo Quyen, who played a crucial role in the resistance against the Chinese occupation of Vietnam in the 10th century.
Throughout Vietnamese history, several notable figures have borne the name Thinh. One such individual was Thinh Nguyen Huu Canh (1650-1700), a renowned poet and scholar during the Later Le Dynasty. His works were highly influential in shaping Vietnamese literature and philosophy.
Another prominent figure with the name Thinh was Thinh Phan Boi Chau (1867-1940), a revolutionary leader who fought for Vietnamese independence from French colonial rule. He was a key figure in the Dong Du movement, which aimed to send Vietnamese students to study in Japan to learn modern ideas and bring them back to Vietnam.
In the 20th century, Thinh Ngo Dinh Diem (1901-1963) was a significant political figure in Vietnam. He served as the first President of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) from 1955 until his assassination in 1963. His presidency was marked by authoritarian rule and suppression of opposition.
Another notable individual with the name Thinh was Thinh Nguyen Cao Ky (born 1930), a former Prime Minister of South Vietnam and a prominent military leader during the Vietnam War. He played a vital role in the political and military affairs of South Vietnam during the 1960s.
While the name Thinh has its roots in the Vietnamese language and culture, it has gained recognition and popularity across various parts of the world due to immigration and cultural exchange. However, its historical significance and meaning remain deeply rooted in the rich cultural heritage of Vietnam.
People
Thinh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thinh 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
Thinh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thinh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 221 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thinh 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 1,550,925 US residents.
Is Thinh a common name?
We classify Thinh as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 227 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Thinh most popular?
The single biggest year for Thinh was 1986, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thinh is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Thinh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,317 people with the name Thinh, or 1.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,236 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 Thinh 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 Thinh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Thinh leans strongly male. 2,972 people counted with this name were male (89.8%), compared with 339 female bearers (10.2%). 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 Thinh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thinh is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.4%. The next largest groups are White (0.7%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Thinh most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Thinh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.4% (3,263 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 Thinh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Thinh a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Thinh 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 Thinh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Thinh 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 Thinh 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 are called Thinh?
You can see how many people share the name Thinh on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.