2000
#347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 81,191
First available Census row
Per 100,000 30.10
Uncommon Last name
Thornton
Derived from a place name meaning "thorn town" or "fenced enclosure of thorn-bushes" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 89,341 Americans carry the last name Thornton. That puts it at #410 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 26.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,836 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thornton 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 Thornton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
89K
1 in 3,836
Census rank
#410
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
26.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
78K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 77,910 bearers of the surname Thornton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 26.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 410th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thornton, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.4%. The next largest groups are Black (25.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thornton
The surname Thornton is of English origin, derived from a place name meaning "the village surrounded by thorns." It is believed to have originated in the 11th century, shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
The name likely arose from various settlements called Thornton, which were scattered across England. These place names were composed of the Old English words "thorn" (meaning "thorny bush") and "tun" (meaning "enclosure" or "village"). The earliest recorded spelling of the surname was found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appeared as "de Thorneton."
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was William de Thornton, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166. Another early reference was to Robert de Thornton, whose name appeared in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1272.
During the Middle Ages, the Thornton family held significant landholdings in Yorkshire and Lancashire. In the 14th century, Sir Roger de Thornton was a prominent merchant and Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne. His descendant, Robert Thornton, was a 15th-century Yorkshire landowner and scribe, known for compiling the Thornton Manuscript, a valuable collection of medieval English literature.
In the 16th century, Sir Edward Thornton (c. 1520-1609) was an English diplomat and scholar who served as Ambassador to France during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. His contemporary, Michael Thornton (c. 1556-1629), was a Church of England clergyman and author.
Other notable figures with the surname Thornton include Sir Samuel Thornton (1755-1838), a British naval officer and politician, and William Thornton (1759-1828), an English-born architect who designed the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
Throughout its history, the surname Thornton has been subject to various spelling variations, including Thorneton, Thornton, Thorneton, and Thorntown, reflecting regional linguistic differences and variations in record-keeping practices.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thornton
Among Census respondents with the surname Thornton, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.4%. The next largest groups are Black (25.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Thornton 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 Thornton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.4% · 50,938
- Black or African American25.9% · 20,186
- Two or more races4.6% · 3,555
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 2,339
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 483
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 409
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thornton
Thornton 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
#373
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 83,967
+2,776 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 28.47
Rank movement Down 26 places
2020
#410
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 77,910
-6,057 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 26.07
Rank movement Down 37 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #347 | 81,191 | 30.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #373 | 83,967 | 28.47 | +2,776 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 26 places |
| 2020 | #410 | 77,910 | 26.07 | -6,057 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 37 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 Thornton 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 | #373 | #410 | -9.9% |
| Count | 83,967 | 77,910 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 28.47 | 26.07 | -8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thornton bearers went from 83,967 to 77,910 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 37 positions in the national ranking, going from #373 to #410.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Thornton
FAQ
Thornton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thornton?
Name Census estimates that about 89,341 living Americans carry the surname Thornton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,836 residents.
How common is Thornton?
Thornton ranks #410 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 26.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 26 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 77,910 people with the surname Thornton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (89,341), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 26.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 26.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 26 of them to have the surname Thornton.
Has Thornton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thornton went from 83,967 recorded bearers to 77,910. That is a decrease of 6,057 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #373 to #410.
What does the Census say about the background of Thornton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thornton, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.4%. The next largest groups are Black (25.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Thornton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.4% (50,938 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thornton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.4%), Black (25.9%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Thornton (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 Thornton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "thorn town" or "fenced enclosure of thorn-bushes" in Old English. 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 Thornton (26.07 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 Americans have the surname Thornton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.