2000
#6,955
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,447
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.65
Rare Last name
Thiele
A German occupational surname referring to a plank maker or carpenter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,918 Americans carry the last name Thiele. That puts it at #7,487 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 69,694 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thiele 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Thiele with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.9K
1 in 69,694
Census rank
#7,487
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,289 bearers of the surname Thiele in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7487th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thiele, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thiele
The surname Thiele is of German origin, originating in the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Thiele," which means "tile" or "brick." This suggests that the name may have been given as an occupational surname to someone who worked as a tiler or bricklayer.
The name Thiele is believed to have originated in the northern regions of Germany, particularly in areas like Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, where the use of tiles and bricks in construction was common. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 16th and 17th centuries in various German parish records and tax rolls.
One notable historical reference to the name Thiele can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis," a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which mentions a certain "Henning Thiele" in the year 1492.
In the 17th century, the name Thiele appeared in the "Kirchenbücher" (church books) of various German regions, such as Johann Thiele, born in 1638 in Altona, and Catharina Thiele, born in 1671 in Mecklenburg.
Among the notable individuals bearing the surname Thiele throughout history are:
1. Johann Thiele (1646-1724), a German composer and organist.
2. Eduard Thiele (1812-1895), a German astronomer and mathematician.
3. Theodor Thiele (1854-1934), a Norwegian mathematician and statistician.
4. Wilhelm Thiele (1865-1945), a German architect and urban planner.
5. Rolf Thiele (1918-1994), a German film director and screenwriter.
The name Thiele has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Thielau, a village in Saxony, and Thielen, a municipality in North Rhine-Westphalia. These place names may have derived from the same root as the surname, suggesting a connection between the name and specific geographical locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thiele
Among Census respondents with the surname Thiele, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Thiele 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 Thiele surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 3,910
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 159
- Two or more races2.8% · 122
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 35
- Black or African American0.6% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thiele
Thiele 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
#7,437
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,478
+31 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 1.52
Rank movement Down 482 places
2020
#7,487
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,289
-189 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 1.43
Rank movement Down 50 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,955 | 4,447 | 1.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,437 | 4,478 | 1.52 | +31 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 482 places |
| 2020 | #7,487 | 4,289 | 1.43 | -189 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 50 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 Thiele 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 | #7,437 | #7,487 | -0.7% |
| Count | 4,478 | 4,289 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.52 | 1.43 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thiele bearers went from 4,478 to 4,289 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 50 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,437 to #7,487.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Thiele
FAQ
Thiele surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thiele?
Name Census estimates that about 4,918 living Americans carry the surname Thiele. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 69,694 residents.
How common is Thiele?
Thiele ranks #7,487 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.43 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,289 people with the surname Thiele. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,918), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.43 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Thiele.
Has Thiele become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thiele went from 4,478 recorded bearers to 4,289. That is a decrease of 189 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,437 to #7,487.
What does the Census say about the background of Thiele?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thiele, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Thiele in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (3,910 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thiele appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Thiele (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 Thiele mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a plank maker or carpenter. 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 Thiele (1.43 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 are called Thiele?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Thiele at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.