2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Thibo
A surname derived from a nickname meaning "bold" or "brave".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Thibo. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thibo surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Thibo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thibo, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thibo
The surname THIBO is believed to have originated in France. It is thought to be a variation of the French surname Thibault, which itself is derived from the Germanic personal name Theudebald. This name is composed of the elements theud, meaning "people," and bald, meaning "bold" or "brave."
The earliest recorded instances of the surname THIBO can be found in medieval French records from the 12th and 13th centuries. During this time, the surname appeared with various spellings, such as Thibaul, Thiebault, and Thibault.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname THIBO was Jean Thibault, a French monk who lived in the late 12th century. He was a scribe and chronicler at the Abbey of Saint-Denis near Paris.
In the 14th century, the THIBO surname was recorded in the historic tax rolls known as the Subsidy Rolls for the county of Yorkshire in England. This suggests that individuals with this surname had migrated to England from France by this time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname THIBO. In the 15th century, Jacques Thibault (c. 1450-1525) was a French magistrate and legal scholar who served as the president of the Parlement of Paris.
During the 16th century, Jean Thibault (1528-1595) was a French architect who worked on several notable buildings in Paris, including the Tuileries Palace and the Church of Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais.
In the 18th century, Gabriel Thibault (1744-1818) was a French military officer who served in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He rose to the rank of general and was awarded the prestigious Légion d'honneur.
In the 19th century, Auguste Thibault (1819-1892) was a French painter and illustrator known for his depictions of rural life and landscapes. His works are held in several museums in France.
Another notable bearer of the THIBO surname was Georges Thibault (1867-1926), a French chemist and engineer who made significant contributions to the development of industrial chemistry and chemical engineering.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thibo
Among Census respondents with the surname Thibo, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Thibo bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Thibo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.7% · 87
- Black or African American20.5% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thibo
Thibo appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-6 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,160 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-5 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,846 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 14,160 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 5,846 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Thibo surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #142,108 | #147,954 | -4.1% |
| Count | 117 | 112 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thibo bearers went from 117 to 112 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 5,846 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #147,954.
FAQ
Thibo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thibo?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Thibo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Thibo?
Thibo ranks #147,954 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 112 people with the surname Thibo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Thibo.
Has Thibo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thibo went from 117 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Thibo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thibo, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Hispanic (0.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Thibo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.7% (87 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thibo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.7%), Black (20.5%), Hispanic (0.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Thibo (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Thibo mean?
A surname derived from a nickname meaning "bold" or "brave". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Thibo (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Thibo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.