Find out how popular the last name Thore is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Thore.

Thore, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Thore surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Thore in America

Thore is the 78567th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Thore surname appeared 243 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Thore.

We can also compare 2010 data for Thore to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Thore

The surname Thore is believed to have originated in Scandinavia, particularly in Norway and Sweden, during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse name "Thorir," which means "thunder."

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Thore can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which are a collection of historical narratives written in the 13th and 14th centuries. These sagas mention several individuals with the name Thore or variations of it, such as Thorir or Thori.

In Norway, the name Thore can be traced back to the 12th century, where it appears in various historical documents and records. One notable example is Thore Hund, a Norwegian chieftain who lived in the late 12th century and was known for his participation in the Norwegian Civil War.

The name Thore is also found in Swedish historical records from the 13th century onwards. One of the earliest recorded instances is Thore Jonsson, a Swedish nobleman who lived in the late 13th century and was a member of the influential Bjelbo family.

As the name spread across Scandinavia, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Thorer, Thorer, and Thorer. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and linguistic traditions.

In the 16th century, a Swedish soldier and explorer named Thore Nilsson Bure (1522-1600) gained fame for his expeditions to Russia and Siberia on behalf of the Swedish crown. He is considered one of the earliest Swedish explorers of the Arctic regions.

Another notable individual with the surname Thore was the Norwegian botanist and explorer Joachim Thore (1801-1859), who conducted extensive research on the flora of Norway and published several important works on the subject.

In more recent times, the Swedish actor and director Thore Skogman (1925-2003) achieved international recognition for his work in film and television, particularly for his portrayal of Inspector Kurt Wallander in the popular Swedish crime series.

The surname Thore has also been carried by several other notable individuals throughout history, including the Norwegian politician and diplomat Thore Andre Lie (1873-1968) and the Swedish artist and illustrator Thore Holmberg (1889-1971).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Thore

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Thore.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Thore was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Thore has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Thore was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Thore, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!