2000
#11,437
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,527
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Thoman
Derived from the personal name Thomas, which means "twin" in Aramaic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,749 Americans carry the last name Thoman. That puts it at #12,374 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 124,683 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thoman 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
2.7K
1 in 124,683
Census rank
#12,374
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,397 bearers of the surname Thoman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12374th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thoman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thoman
The surname THOMAN has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to have originated from the personal name Thomas, which was derived from the Aramaic name Toma, meaning "twin". The name was popularized in Europe due to the influence of the apostle Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ.
In its early forms, the surname was often spelled as Thomanis or Thomannus in various German regions. It was particularly prevalent in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where it was associated with families of farmers and craftsmen. The earliest recorded instance of the name can be found in a document from the town of Regensburg, dated 1187, which mentions a certain Henricus Thomannus.
One notable bearer of the name was Johann Thoman, a German composer and organist who lived from 1565 to 1621. He served as the Kapellmeister at the court of the Elector of Saxony and composed several sacred and secular works that were highly regarded during his time.
Another historical figure with the surname THOMAN was Gottfried Thoman, a German theologian and university professor who lived from 1595 to 1667. He was a prominent Protestant scholar and authored several books on theological subjects, including a work titled "Commentarius in Epistolam ad Hebraeos" (Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews).
In the 18th century, the THOMAN surname can be found in the records of the village of Kirchberg, located in the present-day state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. One such record mentions a Johann Adam Thoman, born in 1723, who was a farmer and landowner in the area.
Moving into the 19th century, a notable bearer of the THOMAN surname was Carl Friedrich Thoman, a German-American artist and lithographer who lived from 1813 to 1884. He immigrated to the United States in the 1840s and gained recognition for his landscape paintings and lithographic prints depicting scenes from the American West.
Another individual of historical significance was Max Thoman, a German architect and urban planner who lived from 1887 to 1962. He was known for his work on city planning projects in various German cities, including Frankfurt and Cologne, and his contributions to the development of modern urban design principles.
It is worth noting that while the surname THOMAN is of German origin, it has also been found in other parts of Europe, likely due to migration and intermarriage among families. However, the name remains closely associated with its German roots and the rich cultural heritage of the regions where it first emerged.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thoman
Among Census respondents with the surname Thoman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Thoman 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 Thoman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 2,196
- Two or more races2.8% · 67
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 59
- Black or African American2.2% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thoman
Thoman 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
#11,250
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,810
+283 bearers (+11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Up 187 places
2020
#12,374
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,397
-413 bearers (-14.7%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 1,124 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,437 | 2,527 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,250 | 2,810 | 0.95 | +283 bearers (+11.2%) | Up 187 places |
| 2020 | #12,374 | 2,397 | 0.80 | -413 bearers (-14.7%) | Down 1,124 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 Thoman 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 | #11,250 | #12,374 | -10.0% |
| Count | 2,810 | 2,397 | -14.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.80 | -15.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thoman bearers went from 2,810 to 2,397 (-14.7% change). The surname moved down 1,124 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,250 to #12,374.
FAQ
Thoman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thoman?
Name Census estimates that about 2,749 living Americans carry the surname Thoman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 124,683 residents.
How common is Thoman?
Thoman ranks #12,374 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 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 2,397 people with the surname Thoman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,749), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 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 Thoman.
Has Thoman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thoman went from 2,810 recorded bearers to 2,397. That is a decrease of 413 (-14.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,250 to #12,374.
What does the Census say about the background of Thoman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thoman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Thoman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (2,196 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thoman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Thoman (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 Thoman mean?
Derived from the personal name Thomas, which means "twin" in Aramaic. 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 Thoman (0.80 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 Thoman?
See how many people are called Thoman on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.