Tomislav
A Slavic masculine given name meaning "glory and fame".
Name Census estimates that about 185 living Americans carry the first name Tomislav. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tomislav today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tomislav births was 1980 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tomislav. 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
185
~ 1 in 1,852,726 Americans
Peak year
1980
12 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2003 SSA rank
#7,197
Tracked since 1962
Census
Tomislav in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 629 people with the first name Tomislav, which placed it at #17,509 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
#17,509
National first-name rank
People counted
629
629 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
95.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tomislav
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tomislav is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Black (0.3%). 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 Tomislav 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 Tomislav at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 602
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 22
- Black or African American0.3% · 2
- Two or more races0.3% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Tomislav: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tomislav from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 70 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tomislav 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 Tomislav 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 Tomislav
The name Tomislav is of Slavic origin, derived from the combination of the Slavic words "tomy" meaning praise or glory, and "slava" meaning glory or fame. It is primarily used in Croatia and other Slavic nations.
The earliest known use of the name Tomislav dates back to the 10th century, when it was borne by the first king of Croatia, Tomislav I, who reigned from 910 to 928 AD. He is credited with uniting the Croatian principalities and establishing a strong central authority, laying the foundation for the future Kingdom of Croatia.
In the Middle Ages, the name Tomislav was popular among the Croatian nobility and ruling class. It was associated with strength, leadership, and national pride. Several Croatian princes and rulers bore this name, including Tomislav II, who ruled from 1089 to 1091.
The name Tomislav is not found in ancient texts or religious scriptures, as it is a relatively modern Slavic name. However, its components, "tomy" and "slava," have their roots in the ancient Slavic languages and cultures.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Tomislav. One of the most famous was Tomislav Mikulić (1904-1992), a Croatian sculptor and artist known for his monumental public works and sculptures that celebrated Croatian national identity.
Another notable Tomislav was Tomislav Ivić (1933-2011), a Croatian football manager and former player. He led the Yugoslav national team to the 1976 European Championship and the 1982 World Cup, where they finished as runners-up.
In the realm of literature, Tomislav Ladan (1912-1988) was a prominent Croatian poet and writer, known for his lyrical works that explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
Tomislav Radić (1928-1994) was a Croatian architect and urban planner who played a significant role in shaping the modern cityscape of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.
Tomislav Karamarko (born 1959) is a Croatian politician who served as the First Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia and the leader of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party from 2016 to 2017.
People
Tomislav + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tomislav 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
Tomislav: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tomislav?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 185 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tomislav 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 1,852,726 US residents.
Is Tomislav a common name?
We classify Tomislav as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 197 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tomislav most popular?
The single biggest year for Tomislav was 1980, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tomislav is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tomislav in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 629 people with the name Tomislav, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,509 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 Tomislav 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 Tomislav?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tomislav appears almost entirely male. Of the 630 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Tomislav?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tomislav is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Black (0.3%). 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 Tomislav most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tomislav in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (602 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 Tomislav in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tomislav a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tomislav 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 Tomislav still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tomislav 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 Tomislav 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 share the name Tomislav?
You can see how many Americans are named Tomislav on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.