2000
#7,521
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,080
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.51
Rare Last name
Thoma
A surname of Aramaic origin meaning "twin," derived from the Aramaic word "thoma" or the Greek equivalent "thomas."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,494 Americans carry the last name Thoma. That puts it at #8,096 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 76,269 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thoma 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 Thoma with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.5K
1 in 76,269
Census rank
#8,096
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,919 bearers of the surname Thoma in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8096th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thoma, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thoma
Among Census respondents with the surname Thoma, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Thoma 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 Thoma surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.5% · 3,469
- Black or African American3.8% · 147
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 136
- Two or more races3.3% · 128
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thoma
Thoma 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
#8,150
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,068
-12 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 1.38
Rank movement Down 629 places
2020
#8,096
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,919
-149 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Up 54 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,521 | 4,080 | 1.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,150 | 4,068 | 1.38 | -12 bearers (-0.3%) | Down 629 places |
| 2020 | #8,096 | 3,919 | 1.31 | -149 bearers (-3.7%) | Up 54 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 Thoma 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 | #8,150 | #8,096 | 0.7% |
| Count | 4,068 | 3,919 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.38 | 1.31 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thoma bearers went from 4,068 to 3,919 (-3.7% change). The surname moved up 54 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,150 to #8,096.
FAQ
Thoma surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thoma?
Name Census estimates that about 4,494 living Americans carry the surname Thoma. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 76,269 residents.
How common is Thoma?
Thoma ranks #8,096 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.31 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 3,919 people with the surname Thoma. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,494), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.31 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 Thoma.
Has Thoma become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thoma went from 4,068 recorded bearers to 3,919. That is a decrease of 149 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,150 to #8,096.
What does the Census say about the background of Thoma?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thoma, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Thoma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (3,469 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thoma appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.5%), Black (3.8%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Thoma (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 Thoma mean?
A surname of Aramaic origin meaning "twin," derived from the Aramaic word "thoma" or the Greek equivalent "thomas." 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 Thoma (1.31 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 have the last name Thoma?
Want to know how many people have the last name Thoma? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.