Thunderhawk last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Thunderhawk

A surname suggesting a powerful bird of prey in a thunderstorm.

Thunderhawk, 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 Thunderhawk surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Thunderhawk in America

Thunderhawk is the 63068th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Thunderhawk surname appeared 317 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 Thunderhawk.

We can also compare 2010 data for Thunderhawk 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 63068 74957 -17.23%
Count 317 240 27.65%
Proportion per 100k 0.11 0.09 20.00%

The history of the last name Thunderhawk

The surname THUNDERHAWK is of Old English origin, tracing its roots back to the Anglo-Saxon era in Britain. It is a compound name, combining the elements "thunor" meaning thunder and "hafoc" meaning hawk. The name likely originated in the region of Mercia, where many place names and surnames incorporated elements from nature.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a landowner named Aelfric Thunderhawk is listed as holding estates in Worcestershire. This suggests the name was already established among the Anglo-Saxon nobility by the late 11th century.

During the Middle Ages, the THUNDERHAWK surname was associated with several prominent figures. Notably, Sir Wulfric Thunderhawk (c. 1190-1248) was a knight who fought in the Crusades and later served as a trusted advisor to King Henry III. The name also appears in the records of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, with a John Thunderhawk listed among the English archers.

In the 16th century, the THUNDERHAWK family established themselves as landed gentry in the county of Derbyshire. A branch of the family later settled in the village of Thunderhawksmere, likely named after their ancestral line. One notable member was Sir Thomas Thunderhawk (1564-1631), a Member of Parliament and supporter of the English Reformation.

As the name spread across England, variations in spelling emerged, including Thundrohawk, Thundrahawke, and Thunderhawke. The THUNDERHAWK surname was also carried to the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries by English settlers. Captain William Thunderhawk (1650-1718) was a prominent figure in colonial Virginia, serving as a militia leader and member of the House of Burgesses.

Other notable individuals with the THUNDERHAWK surname include Admiral Sir Edward Thunderhawk (1792-1868), a British naval officer who distinguished himself during the Napoleonic Wars, and James Thunderhawk (1845-1923), a renowned English artist and sculptor during the Victorian era.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Thunderhawk

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

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 Thunderhawk was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 2.52% 8
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 81.07% 257
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 10.73% 34
Hispanic Origin 5.05% 16

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 Thunderhawk has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 2.52% 3.33% -27.69%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% 0.00% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 81.07% 89.17% -9.52%
Two or More Races 10.73% 7.08% 40.99%
Hispanic 5.05% (S)% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Thunderhawk last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 12, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/thunderhawk-surname-popularity/.

"Thunderhawk last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/thunderhawk-surname-popularity/. Accessed 12 November, 2024

Thunderhawk last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/thunderhawk-surname-popularity/.

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