2000
#14,706
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,853
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Thieme
A German surname derived from a place name or an occupational term related to roof thatching.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,084 Americans carry the last name Thieme. That puts it at #15,514 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 164,469 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thieme 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
2.1K
1 in 164,469
Census rank
#15,514
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,817 bearers of the surname Thieme in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15514th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thieme, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thieme
The surname THIEME is of German origin, originating in the medieval era. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Thiedmar, which means "people's renowned one" and comes from the elements "thiud" meaning "people" and "mari" meaning "famous".
The name THIEME is believed to have first appeared in the northern German regions, particularly in the areas around present-day Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Early recorded variations of the spelling include Thiemen, Thieme, Thymen, and Thyman.
One of the earliest known references to the name THIEME can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from the 12th century, where a certain Thiedmarus de Lipsia (Thiedmar of Leipzig) is mentioned in 1181.
Another notable early bearer of the name was Dietrich IV Thieme, a German nobleman and member of the Wettin dynasty, who lived from around 1260 to 1307. He served as the Lord of Brehna and held significant influence in the region.
In the 14th century, a man named Johann Thieme was recorded as being the mayor of the town of Nordhausen in Thuringia, Germany, indicating the presence of the name in that area during that time period.
During the Renaissance era, a scholar and humanist named Clemens Thieme (1492-1542) gained recognition for his work in translating ancient Greek texts into Latin. He was born in Zwickau, Saxony, and taught at various universities across Germany.
Another notable figure with the surname THIEME was Johann Gottfried Thieme (1701-1768), a German jurist and legal scholar who authored several influential works on Roman law and legal theory in the 18th century.
Throughout history, the name THIEME has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Thiemendorf, a village in Saxony-Anhalt, and Thiemitzschau, a town in Saxony, suggesting possible connections between the surname and these locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thieme
Among Census respondents with the surname Thieme, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Thieme 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 Thieme surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 1,642
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 83
- Two or more races4.0% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 12
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thieme
Thieme 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
#15,651
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,866
+13 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 945 places
2020
#15,514
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,817
-49 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Up 137 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,706 | 1,853 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,651 | 1,866 | 0.63 | +13 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 945 places |
| 2020 | #15,514 | 1,817 | 0.61 | -49 bearers (-2.6%) | Up 137 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 Thieme 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 | #15,651 | #15,514 | 0.9% |
| Count | 1,866 | 1,817 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.63 | 0.61 | -3.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thieme bearers went from 1,866 to 1,817 (-2.6% change). The surname moved up 137 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,651 to #15,514.
FAQ
Thieme surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thieme?
Name Census estimates that about 2,084 living Americans carry the surname Thieme. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 164,469 residents.
How common is Thieme?
Thieme ranks #15,514 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,817 people with the surname Thieme. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,084), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Thieme.
Has Thieme become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thieme went from 1,866 recorded bearers to 1,817. That is a decrease of 49 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,651 to #15,514.
What does the Census say about the background of Thieme?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thieme, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Thieme in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (1,642 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thieme appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (4.6%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Thieme (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 Thieme mean?
A German surname derived from a place name or an occupational term related to roof thatching. 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 Thieme (0.61 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 Thieme?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.