Thomas Wilson
There are approximately 4,026 people named Thomas Wilson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 85,135 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Thomas with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Wilson. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
4,026
1 in 85,135
Named Thomas
1.5M
Alive today
Named Wilson
891K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 1.5M
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1952
Average age: 55
Top Census group: White (87.0%)
Estimated bearers: 891K
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #14
Per 100K: 260.05
Top ancestry: White (64.5%)
First name trend
Thomas: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Thomas. The peak year was 1952 with 48,728 births. The average person named Thomas today is 55 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thomas
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Thomas, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 87.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Thomas described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Thomas at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White87.0% · 1,310,638
- Black or African American4.7% · 70,115
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 58,403
- Two or more races2.3% · 35,273
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 24,934
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 7,241
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Wilson surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Wilson, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 64.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Wilson described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Wilson at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White64.5% · 501,019
- Black or African American25.5% · 198,581
- Two or more races4.7% · 36,207
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 27,928
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 7,617
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 5,923
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Thomas has a living-bearer frequency of 0.4517% of the US population, based on 1,548,322 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Thomas right now.
The surname Wilson appears at a rate of 260.05 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.2600%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 4,026 people with the full name Thomas Wilson. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Thomas
Related
Other people with the surname Wilson
FAQ
Thomas Wilson: questions and answers
How many people are named Thomas Wilson?
We estimate approximately 4,026 people in the United States share the full name Thomas Wilson. That works out to about 1 in 85,135 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.4517%) with the surname frequency (260.05 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Thomas Wilson?
We classify Thomas Wilson as "Rare". About 1 in 85,135 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Thomas a male or female name?
Thomas is predominantly male. Out of 2,360,128 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Thomas profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people are named Thomas Wilson?
You can see how common the name Thomas Wilson is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.