Theron
A masculine Greek name derived from the word "ther" meaning hunter or beast.
Name Census estimates that about 8,411 living Americans carry the first name Theron. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Theron today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Theron births was 1966 (180 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Theron. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Theron with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
8.4K
~ 1 in 40,751 Americans
Peak year
1966
180 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,857
Tracked since 1880
Census
Theron in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,537 people with the first name Theron, which placed it at #2,980 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,980
National first-name rank
People counted
7.5K
7,537 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Theron
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Theron is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.6%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Theron 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Theron at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.6% · 4,721
- Black or African American25.6% · 1,933
- Two or more races4.7% · 353
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 242
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.9% · 219
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 69
Gender
Gender distribution for Theron
Out of the 12,945 babies given the name Theron since 1880, 99.7% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Theron as a male name
- Ranked #2,857 in 2024
- 45 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1966 (180 births)
Theron as a female name
- Ranked #13,676 in 2018
- 7 female births in 2018
- Peak: 2018 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Theron leans strongly male. 7,403 people counted with this name were male (98.2%), compared with 136 female bearers (1.8%).
Popularity
Theron: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Theron from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,483 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Theron by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Theron during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Therons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. Georgia, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Theron, while West Virginia, Nebraska, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 166 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Theron
The name Theron is derived from the Greek word "theron," meaning "hunter" or "beast." It has its roots in ancient Greek mythology and culture, dating back to around the 8th century BCE. The name was often associated with the Greek god Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, and her male companions, who were skilled hunters.
In ancient Greek literature, the name Theron is mentioned in various works, including the writings of the poet Pindar and the playwright Aeschylus. It was a popular name among the Greeks, particularly in regions where hunting and outdoor pursuits were highly valued.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Theron is found in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus, who mentioned a tyrant of Agrigentum (modern-day Agrigento, Sicily) named Theron, who ruled in the late 6th century BCE. Theron was known for his patronage of the arts and his victories in the Olympic Games.
Another notable figure in history with the name Theron was a Spartan general who lived in the 4th century BCE. He played a significant role in the Peloponnesian War and was renowned for his military strategies and leadership.
In the realm of philosophy, there was Theron of Akragas, a Greek philosopher from the 5th century BCE who was a disciple of Pythagoras and contributed to the development of mathematical and scientific thought.
During the Byzantine period, Theron was the name of a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century CE. He was martyred for his faith and is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Later in history, Theron was also the name of a French missionary and explorer who traveled to North America in the 17th century. He is known for his work among the Native American tribes and his contributions to the exploration of the Great Lakes region.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Theron, which has its roots in ancient Greek culture and mythology, representing the concepts of hunting, bravery, and a connection with nature.
People
Theron + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Theron as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Theron: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Theron?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,411 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Theron going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 40,751 US residents.
Is Theron a common name?
We classify Theron as "Rare". It ranks above 97.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12,945 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Theron most popular?
The single biggest year for Theron was 1966, when 180 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Theron is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Theron in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,537 people with the name Theron, or 2.50 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,980 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Theron in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Theron?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Theron leans strongly male. 7,403 people counted with this name were male (98.2%), compared with 136 female bearers (1.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Theron?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Theron is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.6%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Theron most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Theron in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.6% (4,721 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Theron in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Theron a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Theron in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Theron still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Theron in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Theron can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Theron?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.