Thorn
A masculine name of Old English origin meaning "sharp, spiky plant".
Name Census estimates that about 295 living Americans carry the first name Thorn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Thorn today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thorn births was 1988 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thorn. 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
295
~ 1 in 1,161,879 Americans
Peak year
1988
16 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,992
Tracked since 1958
Popularity
Thorn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Thorn from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 98 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Thorn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Thorn 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 Thorn 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 Thorn
The name Thorn is of Old English origin, derived from the Old English word "þorn" which means "thorn bush" or "prickly shrub." The letter "þ" (thorn) was a runic letter used in Old English and Anglo-Saxon texts to represent the "th" sound.
The name Thorn likely emerged as a descriptive surname or nickname during the Middle Ages, given to someone who lived near a thorn bush or who had a prickly personality. It later transitioned into a given name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Thorn can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. The name appears as "Thorn" and "Torn," indicating its use as a surname during that time.
In the 14th century, the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer mentioned a character named "Thorn" in his famous work, "The Canterbury Tales." This literary reference suggests that the name was in use as a given name by the late Middle Ages.
Notable historical figures with the first name Thorn include:
Thorn Gunn (1929-2004), an English poet and writer who lived and worked in the United States. He was known for his exploration of themes related to sexuality and modern urban life.
Thorn Browne (1888-1962), an American actor and vaudeville performer who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and films during the early 20th century.
Thorn Hird (1850-1920), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club in the late 19th century.
Thorn Wethered (1888-1977), an English golfer and one of the leading female players of the early 20th century. She won the British Ladies Amateur Championship in 1905 and 1908.
Thorn Jones (1619-1692), a Welsh clergyman and author who served as vicar of Cwmdu in Radnorshire, Wales. He wrote several religious works in Welsh and English.
While the name Thorn has its roots in Old English and was used throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, it has become relatively uncommon as a first name in modern times, especially in comparison to its earlier usage.
People
Thorn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thorn 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
Thorn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thorn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 295 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thorn 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 1,161,879 US residents.
Is Thorn a common name?
We classify Thorn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 302 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Thorn most popular?
The single biggest year for Thorn was 1988, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thorn is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Thorn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Thorn 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.
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.