2000
#1,678
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,549
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.25
Uncommon Last name
Thomason
Son of Thomas, an English patronymic surname derived from the medieval personal name Thomas.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,155 Americans carry the last name Thomason. That puts it at #1,821 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,471 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thomason 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 Thomason with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
22K
1 in 15,471
Census rank
#1,821
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
19K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,320 bearers of the surname Thomason in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1821st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thomason, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (6.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thomason
The surname Thomason originated in England and is derived from the medieval given name Thomas, which itself comes from the Aramaic name Toma meaning "twin". The suffix "-son" was commonly used to indicate "son of", so Thomason originally referred to the son of someone named Thomas.
The name first appeared in historical records during the late 12th century, with early spellings including Thomasson, Thomessone, and Thomsoun. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Willelmus Thomasson, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1195.
In the 13th century, the Thomason surname is found in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 mention a John Thomasson in Oxfordshire, while the Subsidy Rolls of 1327 record a William Thomasson in Derbyshire.
The Thomason name is not found in the Domesday Book of 1086, as it emerged later in the Middle Ages. However, it is likely that some early bearers of the name were of Norman ancestry, as the given name Thomas was popular among the Norman nobility after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
Notable individuals with the Thomason surname throughout history include:
1. James Thomason (1804-1853), an English civil servant who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces in British India.
2. John Thomason (1600-1672), an English Puritan minister and author who published several religious works.
3. Sir Edward Thomason (1769-1849), a British naval officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of the Cape Colony from 1828 to 1834.
4. George Thomason (1592-1666), an English bookseller and collector who amassed one of the most extensive collections of printed materials from the English Civil War period.
5. Marjorie Thomason (1904-1966), an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Thomason surname is also associated with various place names in England, such as Thomason's Cottage in Derbyshire and Thomason's Bridge in Yorkshire, reflecting the geographical spread of the name throughout the country over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thomason
Among Census respondents with the surname Thomason, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (6.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Thomason 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 Thomason surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.2% · 16,263
- Black or African American6.6% · 1,272
- Two or more races4.2% · 812
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 660
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 204
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 109
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thomason
Thomason 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
#1,751
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,478
+929 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 6.94
Rank movement Down 73 places
2020
#1,821
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,320
-1,158 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 6.46
Rank movement Down 70 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,678 | 19,549 | 7.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,751 | 20,478 | 6.94 | +929 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 73 places |
| 2020 | #1,821 | 19,320 | 6.46 | -1,158 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 70 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 Thomason 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 | #1,751 | #1,821 | -4.0% |
| Count | 20,478 | 19,320 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 6.94 | 6.46 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thomason bearers went from 20,478 to 19,320 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 70 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,751 to #1,821.
FAQ
Thomason surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thomason?
Name Census estimates that about 22,155 living Americans carry the surname Thomason. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,471 residents.
How common is Thomason?
Thomason ranks #1,821 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,320 people with the surname Thomason. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,155), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Thomason.
Has Thomason become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thomason went from 20,478 recorded bearers to 19,320. That is a decrease of 1,158 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,751 to #1,821.
What does the Census say about the background of Thomason?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thomason, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (6.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Thomason in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.2% (16,263 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thomason appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.2%), Black (6.6%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Thomason (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 Thomason mean?
Son of Thomas, an English patronymic surname derived from the medieval personal name 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 Thomason (6.46 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 Thomason?
Find out how many people have the last name Thomason on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.