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

Thornhill, 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 Thornhill surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Thornhill in America

Thornhill is the 4817th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Thornhill surname appeared 7,327 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Thornhill.

We can also compare 2010 data for Thornhill 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 Thornhill

The surname Thornhill has its roots in England, originating during the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from various places called Thornhill, which were named for the old English words "thorn" meaning hawthorn tree and "hyll" meaning hill. The earliest known bearer of this surname was Robert de Thornhull, recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1219.

The name Thornhill is found in several counties throughout England, indicating that it arose independently in different places. For example, there are places called Thornhill in Dorset, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire. The Domesday Book of 1086 records a place called Thornhille in Yorkshire, suggesting that the name existed in that area even before the 13th century.

In the 13th century, a family bearing the name Thornhill held lands in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. One notable member was Thomas de Thornhill, who served as a member of parliament for Yorkshire in 1301. Another early record is that of William de Thornhill, a landowner in Northamptonshire in the late 13th century.

As the surname spread across England, variations in spelling emerged, such as Thornhull, Thornell, and Thornill. Some of these variants may have derived from different place names or been influenced by local dialects. One notable bearer of the name in its Thornell form was Richard Thornell, a wealthy merchant and alderman in the City of London in the 16th century.

Sir Isaac Thornhill (1617-1669) was a prominent English lawyer and judge who served as a Member of Parliament and Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas under Charles II. Another notable figure was Sir James Thornhill (1675-1734), a celebrated English painter and one of the first members of the revived Society of Artists in London.

In the 18th century, Sir Samuel Thornhill (1704-1784) was a distinguished naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. He rose to the rank of Admiral of the Blue and was appointed Governor of Greenwich Hospital in 1770.

The Thornhill surname is also associated with several places in the United States and Canada, likely named after early settlers or locations in England. For example, there is a community called Thornhill in Ontario, Canada, as well as places bearing the name in Texas, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Thornhill

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

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 Thornhill 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 Thornhill 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 Thornhill was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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