Find out how popular the last name Theis is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Theis.

Theis, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Theis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Theis in America

Theis is the 5417th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Theis surname appeared 6,425 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Theis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Theis to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Theis

The surname Theis is of German origin, originating in the regions of Bavaria and Franconia during the medieval period. It is derived from the Germanic personal name "Theudis," which means "ruler of the people." The name was likely introduced into the region by the Visigoths, a Germanic tribe that ruled parts of Europe in the early medieval era.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Theis can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from Bavaria, which mentions a person named "Theudo" in the year 788. The name also appears in the Freisinger Traditionen, a record of property transfers in the Freising region of Bavaria, from the 9th century.

In the 13th century, the name Theis was documented in various legal and administrative records in the town of Nuremberg, a prominent city in Franconia. One notable figure from this time was Johannes Theis, a merchant and member of the town council, who lived around 1260.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the name Theis gained popularity among the educated and affluent classes in southern Germany. Johann Theis, a renowned humanist scholar and poet, was born in Nuremberg in 1455. Another prominent individual was Georg Theis, a Reformation-era theologian and professor at the University of Wittenberg, who lived from 1488 to 1542.

In the 17th century, the name Theis spread to other parts of Germany and neighboring regions. One notable figure was Johann Friedrich Theis (1618-1688), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha.

As the Theis family migrated to different parts of Europe and beyond, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Theiss, Theiss, and Teis. In the 19th century, a prominent American figure with this surname was Lewis Theis (1824-1897), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Theis

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Theis.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Theis was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Theis has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Theis was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Theis, please contact us.

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