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

Thoma, 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 Thoma surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Thoma in America

Thoma is the 8150th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Thoma surname appeared 4,068 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Thoma.

We can also compare 2010 data for Thoma 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 Thoma

The surname THOMA is of German origin, originating in the medieval period. It is derived from the personal name Thomas, which itself comes from the Aramaic name ????????? (Ta'oma') meaning "twin". The name Thomas became popular across Europe after being adopted by early Christians.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname THOMA can be found in German records from the 13th century. In the Codex Traditionum of the monastery of Zwiefalten, there is a reference to a Hermann dictus Thoma in the year 1271. The surname was prevalent in southern Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia.

THOMA is believed to have originated as a descriptive surname, referring to someone who was the son of a man named Thomas. This practice of creating surnames from a father's given name was common in medieval times. Over time, the name evolved to include various spelling variations such as Thoman, Thome, and Thomann.

One notable individual with the surname THOMA was Johann Thoma (1468-1505), a German Renaissance painter known for his altarpieces and frescoes in churches across southern Germany. Another was the German mathematician and astronomer Rudolf Thoma (1576-1625), who made important contributions to the development of logarithms and the calculation of celestial orbits.

In the 16th century, the surname THOMA appeared in the records of the city of Augsburg, where a family of that name was prominent in the local guild of bakers. One member, Hans Thoma (1529-1591), served as the head of the bakers' guild and was a respected citizen of the city.

The 17th century saw the rise of the Thoma family in the German principality of Saxe-Coburg, where they held significant landholdings and positions of nobility. Johann Friedrich Thoma (1648-1726) was a prominent jurist and statesman in the service of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg.

As the surname spread across German-speaking regions, it also took root in other parts of Europe, including Switzerland and Austria. In the 18th century, the Swiss painter Henry Thoma (1734-1811) gained recognition for his landscapes and portraits, which are now held in various museums across Europe.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Thoma

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

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 Thoma 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 Thoma 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 Thoma was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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