2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Thysell
An Americanized form of the German surname Thiessen meaning "from Thyes".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Thysell. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thysell 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Thysell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thysell, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.0%) and Two or More Races (7.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thysell
The surname Thysell is believed to have originated in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old German word "thyse," which means "thick" or "sturdy," and may have been used as a descriptive term for someone of a strong or stocky build.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Thysell can be found in the records of the town of Augsburg, where a merchant named Hans Thysell is mentioned in a trade agreement from 1567. This suggests that the Thysell family may have been involved in commerce and trade during that time period.
In the 17th century, the surname Thysell appears in the records of the town of Nuremberg, where a family of weavers and textile workers bore this name. It is likely that the name was associated with this particular trade or profession in that region.
The Thysell name has also been documented in various church records and local registers throughout Germany, including entries in the parish records of the town of Bamberg in the late 1600s.
One notable figure with the surname Thysell was Johann Thysell, a German composer and organist who lived from 1637 to 1688. He is best known for his contributions to the development of the Lutheran church music tradition in Germany during the Baroque period.
Another notable individual was Friedrich Thysell, a German painter and printmaker who was active in the early 19th century. He was born in 1786 and is renowned for his landscapes and etchings depicting scenes from the Bavarian countryside.
In the late 19th century, a family of Thysells from the region of Saxony emigrated to the United States, where they settled in the Midwest. One member of this family, Wilhelm Thysell, born in 1862, became a successful farmer and landowner in the state of Iowa.
Another prominent figure bearing the Thysell surname was Karl Thysell, a German-born engineer who lived from 1875 to 1942. He made significant contributions to the development of early automobiles and internal combustion engines, working for companies such as Daimler-Benz and Opel.
While the Thysell name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, as a result of immigration and migration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thysell
Among Census respondents with the surname Thysell, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.0%) and Two or More Races (7.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Thysell 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 Thysell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.6% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino12.0% · 13
- Two or more races7.4% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thysell
Thysell 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+14 bearers (+13.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,751 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-11 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,778 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+13.3%) | Up 4,751 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 10,778 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 Thysell 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 | #140,157 | #150,935 | -7.7% |
| Count | 119 | 108 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thysell bearers went from 119 to 108 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 10,778 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #150,935.
FAQ
Thysell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thysell?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Thysell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Thysell?
Thysell ranks #150,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 108 people with the surname Thysell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Thysell.
Has Thysell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thysell went from 119 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Thysell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thysell, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.0%) and Two or More Races (7.4%). 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 Thysell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.6% (86 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thysell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.6%), Hispanic (12.0%), Two or More Races (7.4%). 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 Thysell (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 Thysell mean?
An Americanized form of the German surname Thiessen meaning "from Thyes". 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 Thysell (0.04 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 people are called Thysell?
Find out how many people are called Thysell on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.