2000
#4,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,643
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.46
Rare Last name
Thorson
Son of Thor, referring to the Norse god of thunder, or someone with characteristics associated with Thor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,497 Americans carry the last name Thorson. That puts it at #5,170 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 45,719 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thorson 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
7.5K
1 in 45,719
Census rank
#5,170
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,538 bearers of the surname Thorson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5170th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thorson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thorson
The surname Thorson originated in Scandinavia, particularly in Norway and Sweden, during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old Norse words "Þórr" (the name of the god of thunder) and "son" (son of), meaning "son of Thor."
The name likely emerged as a patronymic, indicating lineage from an ancestor named Thor or someone who followed the worship of the god Thor. Variations of the spelling include Thorsen, Thórsson, and Torstenson.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Thorson can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which date back to the 13th century. These literary works often mentioned individuals with patronymic surnames like Thorson.
In the 14th century, a Norwegian chieftain named Thorstein Thorson was mentioned in historical records for his involvement in a conflict with the King of Norway.
During the Viking Age, many Scandinavians migrated to other parts of Europe, and it is possible that the surname Thorson was introduced to regions like Britain and parts of mainland Europe through these migrations.
A notable figure bearing the surname Thorson was Niels Thorson, a Danish explorer who accompanied Vitus Bering on his expeditions to the North Pacific in the 1730s.
In the 19th century, a Swedish immigrant to the United States named Johan Thorson became a successful businessman and landowner in Minnesota.
Another prominent individual with the surname was Sven Thorson, a Norwegian-American author and academic who wrote extensively about Scandinavian culture and literature in the early 20th century (1874-1947).
The Thorson name also appears in various place names, such as Thorson Creek in Alaska and Thorson Prairie in Minnesota, reflecting the geographic spread of individuals bearing this surname.
Overall, the surname Thorson has a long history rooted in Scandinavian culture and mythology, with its earliest known origins dating back to the medieval period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thorson
Among Census respondents with the surname Thorson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Thorson 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 Thorson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 6,057
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 198
- Two or more races2.9% · 189
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 45
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 27
- Black or African American0.3% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thorson
Thorson 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
#5,173
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,752
+109 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 2.29
Rank movement Down 326 places
2020
#5,170
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,538
-214 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 2.19
Rank movement Up 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,847 | 6,643 | 2.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,173 | 6,752 | 2.29 | +109 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 326 places |
| 2020 | #5,170 | 6,538 | 2.19 | -214 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 3 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 Thorson 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 | #5,173 | #5,170 | 0.1% |
| Count | 6,752 | 6,538 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.29 | 2.19 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thorson bearers went from 6,752 to 6,538 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,173 to #5,170.
FAQ
Thorson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thorson?
Name Census estimates that about 7,497 living Americans carry the surname Thorson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 45,719 residents.
How common is Thorson?
Thorson ranks #5,170 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.19 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,538 people with the surname Thorson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,497), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.19 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Thorson.
Has Thorson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thorson went from 6,752 recorded bearers to 6,538. That is a decrease of 214 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,173 to #5,170.
What does the Census say about the background of Thorson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thorson, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Thorson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (6,057 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thorson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Thorson (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 Thorson mean?
Son of Thor, referring to the Norse god of thunder, or someone with characteristics associated with Thor. 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 Thorson (2.19 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 common is the surname Thorson?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Thorson at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.