2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Thomet
A surname derived from the given name Thomas, meaning "twin" in Aramaic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Thomet. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thomet 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Thomet in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thomet, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thomet
The surname Thomet originated from the French region of Franche-Comté in eastern France near the Swiss border. It likely arose sometime in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th centuries. The name is derived from the old French personal name Thomas, which in turn comes from the Aramaic name Te'oma meaning "twin".
One of the earliest recorded examples of the Thomet surname is found in tax rolls from the village of Mouthe in Franche-Comté dating back to 1392, listing a Pierre Thomet as a local landowner. The surname also appears in parish records from the nearby town of Les Rousses from the early 1500s.
In the 16th century, the Thomet name spread to parts of Switzerland, particularly the Jura region bordering France. Notable early Swiss bearers include Jacques Thomet (1558-1629), a Protestant theologian and pastor in the town of Cressier.
As the Thomet family branched out over the centuries, variations in spelling emerged such as Thomet, Thomett, and Thommet. The surname's link to the Thomas name also led some branches to adopt the spellings Tomet and Tommet.
One prominent Thomet was Jean-Baptiste Thomet (1741-1813), a French revolutionary from Besançon who served as a deputy in the National Convention during the French Revolution. Another was Claude Thomet (1809-1863), a 19th century French Catholic priest and founder of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary religious order.
In Germany, the Thomet surname first appeared in the 18th century among French Huguenot refugees who fled religious persecution. A Swiss branch produced the noted German painter Albert Thomet (1874-1936) who was born in Leipzig but spent most of his career in Munich.
While never an extremely common surname, Thomet families could be found across France, Switzerland, and parts of Germany prior to the modern era, leaving an impression over several centuries of European history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thomet
Among Census respondents with the surname Thomet, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Thomet 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 Thomet surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
- Two or more races2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thomet
Thomet appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-5 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 1,501 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -5 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 1,501 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 Thomet 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 | #153,769 | #155,270 | -1.0% |
| Count | 106 | 101 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thomet bearers went from 106 to 101 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 1,501 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #155,270.
FAQ
Thomet surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thomet?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Thomet. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Thomet?
Thomet ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 101 people with the surname Thomet. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Thomet.
Has Thomet become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thomet went from 106 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #153,769 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Thomet?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thomet, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). 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 Thomet in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thomet appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (2.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). 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 Thomet (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 Thomet mean?
A surname derived from the given name Thomas, meaning "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 Thomet (0.03 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 Thomet?
Want to know how common the surname Thomet is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.