Thi
A Thai feminine given name meaning "smaller, little, or petite".
Name Census estimates that about 454 living Americans carry the first name Thi. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Thi today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thi births was 1983 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thi. 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 Thi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
454
~ 1 in 754,966 Americans
Peak year
1983
27 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
1997 SSA rank
#8,029
Tracked since 1976
Census
Thi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 11,170 people with the first name Thi, which placed it at #2,304 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
#2,304
National first-name rank
People counted
11K
11,170 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.0%. The next largest groups are White (0.7%) and Two or More Races (0.6%). 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 Thi 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 Thi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.0% · 10,942
- White0.7% · 77
- Two or more races0.6% · 63
- Hispanic or Latino0.4% · 45
- Black or African American0.3% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Thi
Thi leans heavily female at 86.6% of total registrations, but 63 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Thi as a male name
- Ranked #8,029 in 1997
- 7 male births in 1997
- Peak: 1983 (9 births)
Thi as a female name
- Ranked #15,513 in 2018
- 6 female births in 2018
- Peak: 1982 (20 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Thi leans strongly female. 10,104 people counted with this name were female (90.5%), compared with 1,065 male bearers (9.5%).
Popularity
Thi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Thi from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 149 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Thi 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 Thi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where This live
Origin
Meaning and history of Thi
The name Thi is a Vietnamese given name with its origins dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Old Vietnamese word "thi" which means "poetry" or "verse." This suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals who were skilled in the art of poetry or had a deep appreciation for literature.
In Vietnam's rich literary tradition, the name Thi holds a significant place. It is mentioned in various historical texts and manuscripts, including the famous epic poem "The Tale of Kieu" by Nguyen Du, which is considered a masterpiece of Vietnamese literature. The poem features a character named Thi No, highlighting the prevalence of the name during that era.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Thi is Thi Sach (624-707 CE), a renowned Vietnamese poet and scholar during the Tang Dynasty. Her poetry and literary works have been widely celebrated and have influenced generations of writers and intellectuals in Vietnam.
Another notable figure was Thi Hinh (1624-1682), a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and poet who is renowned for his contributions to the development of the Nom script, a writing system used to transcribe the Vietnamese language. His poems and teachings have left a lasting impact on Vietnamese culture and spirituality.
In the 18th century, Thi Hao (1720-1795) was a prominent Vietnamese scholar and poet who served as a mandarin during the Le Dynasty. His literary works, including poetry and essays, have been studied and revered by scholars and students alike.
Moving into the modern era, Thi Muoi (1898-1963) was a celebrated Vietnamese writer and feminist activist. She was a pioneer in advocating for women's rights and education, and her literary works shed light on the struggles and experiences of women in Vietnamese society during the early 20th century.
Thi Hoai (1921-1986) was a renowned Vietnamese poet and playwright whose works explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition. Her poetic style was highly influential, and she is considered one of the most significant literary figures in modern Vietnamese literature.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Thi throughout history, each leaving their mark on Vietnamese culture, literature, and society. The name's poetic origins and deep-rooted literary connections have made it a respected and cherished name in Vietnam for centuries.
People
Thi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thi 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
Thi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 454 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thi 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 754,966 US residents.
Is Thi a common name?
We classify Thi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 471 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Thi most popular?
The single biggest year for Thi was 1983, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thi is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Thi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 11,170 people with the name Thi, or 3.70 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,304 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 Thi 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 Thi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Thi leans strongly female. 10,104 people counted with this name were female (90.5%), compared with 1,065 male bearers (9.5%). 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 Thi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.0%. The next largest groups are White (0.7%) and Two or More Races (0.6%). 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 Thi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Thi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.0% (10,942 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 Thi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Thi a female name?
Yes, 86.6% of people registered as Thi in the SSA data are female. 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 Thi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Thi 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 Thi 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 are named Thi?
Want to know how many Americans are named Thi? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.