2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Thorbourne
A surname originating from a place name, possibly derived from the Old English words "þorn" (thorn) and "burna" (stream or brook).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Thorbourne. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thorbourne 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Thorbourne in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thorbourne, the largest self-reported group is Black at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.8%) and Hispanic (9.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thorbourne
The surname THORBOURNE is of English origin, emerging in the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "thur" and "burna," which together translate to "thorny stream." This suggests that the name originally referred to someone who lived near a stream or river with thorny bushes or trees growing along its banks.
The earliest records of the name THORBOURNE can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Thornburne" in reference to a settlement in Wiltshire. This indicates that the name was already well-established in England by the late 11th century.
During the 13th century, various spellings of the name emerged, such as "Thornbourn," "Thorneburne," and "Thurnburn." These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies of medieval scribes in recording names.
One notable early bearer of the THORBOURNE name was Sir William Thorbourne, a knight who fought in the Wars of the Roses during the 15th century. He was born around 1430 and died in 1487.
Another prominent figure was John Thorbourne, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in the 16th century. He was born in 1542 and passed away in 1612.
In the 17th century, the name THORBOURNE was associated with the village of Thornbourne in Buckinghamshire, which may have been named after an early settler with the surname.
During the 18th century, Elizabeth Thorbourne, born in 1712, was a renowned author and poet whose works were widely published and celebrated in literary circles of the time. She died in 1792.
In the 19th century, Robert Thorbourne, born in 1825, was a successful industrialist and entrepreneur who played a significant role in the development of the textile industry in Yorkshire. He passed away in 1901.
As the centuries progressed, the THORBOURNE name spread throughout different regions of England, with various branches of the family taking root in different counties and localities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thorbourne
Among Census respondents with the surname Thorbourne, the largest self-reported group is Black at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.8%) and Hispanic (9.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Thorbourne 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 Thorbourne surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American75.5% · 77
- Two or more races11.8% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino9.8% · 10
- White2.0% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thorbourne
Thorbourne 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+15 bearers (+15.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,295 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-13 bearers (-11.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 10,614 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+15.0%) | Up 6,295 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -13 bearers (-11.3%) | Down 10,614 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 Thorbourne 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 | #144,141 | #154,755 | -7.4% |
| Count | 115 | 102 | -11.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thorbourne bearers went from 115 to 102 (-11.3% change). The surname moved down 10,614 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #154,755.
FAQ
Thorbourne surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thorbourne?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Thorbourne. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Thorbourne?
Thorbourne ranks #154,755 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 102 people with the surname Thorbourne. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), 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 Thorbourne.
Has Thorbourne become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thorbourne went from 115 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 13 (-11.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Thorbourne?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thorbourne, the largest self-reported group is Black at 75.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.8%) and Hispanic (9.8%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Thorbourne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.5% (77 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thorbourne appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (75.5%), Two or More Races (11.8%), Hispanic (9.8%). 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 Thorbourne (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 Thorbourne mean?
A surname originating from a place name, possibly derived from the Old English words "þorn" (thorn) and "burna" (stream or brook). 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 Thorbourne (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 share the surname Thorbourne?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.