Thong
A Thai word meaning a strip of cloth or string.
Name Census estimates that about 294 living Americans carry the first name Thong. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Thong today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thong births was 1993 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thong. 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.
People living today
294
~ 1 in 1,165,831 Americans
Peak year
1993
19 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2006 SSA rank
#9,489
Tracked since 1976
Census
Thong in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,090 people with the first name Thong, which placed it at #5,520 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
#5,520
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,090 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thong
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thong is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.6%. The next largest groups are White (0.6%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Thong 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 Thong at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.6% · 3,047
- White0.6% · 19
- Two or more races0.4% · 12
- Black or African American0.2% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.1% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Thong: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Thong from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 133 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Thong 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 Thong during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Thongs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Thong
The name Thong has its origins in the Thai language, where it is derived from the word "thong," which translates to "golden." It is believed to have emerged as a given name during the Ayutthaya Kingdom period, which spanned from the 14th to the 18th centuries in what is now modern-day Thailand.
In Thai culture, the name Thong was often associated with prosperity, wealth, and nobility. It was a popular choice among the royal families and upper-class members of society, who sought to bestow upon their children names that conveyed auspicious meanings.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Thong can be found in the Annals of Ayutthaya, a historical chronicle that documented the reign of various Thai kings. This text mentions several prominent individuals bearing the name Thong, including Thong Duang, a revered military leader and advisor to King Narai in the 17th century.
Over the centuries, the name Thong has been carried by notable figures throughout Thailand's history. One such individual was Thong Lok, a celebrated poet and scholar who lived during the late 18th century and contributed significantly to the preservation and advancement of Thai literature.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Thong In, a renowned artist and architect who lived in the early 19th century. He is credited with designing and overseeing the construction of several iconic Buddhist temples and palaces, including the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
In the realm of religion, Thong Bhuddhasiri was a highly respected Buddhist monk who lived in the late 19th century. He was renowned for his teachings on mindfulness and meditation, and his writings continue to influence Thai Buddhist practices to this day.
Moving into the 20th century, Thong Khon was a distinguished Thai diplomat and statesman who served as the country's ambassador to various nations, including the United States and France, during the mid-1900s.
While the name Thong has deep roots in Thai culture and history, it has also been adopted by individuals of other ethnicities and nationalities, particularly in Southeast Asia and parts of East Asia. However, the specific meanings and cultural significance may vary across these different regions and contexts.
People
Thong + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thong 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
Thong: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thong?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 294 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thong 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 1,165,831 US residents.
Is Thong a common name?
We classify Thong as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 305 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Thong most popular?
The single biggest year for Thong was 1993, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thong is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Thong in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,090 people with the name Thong, or 1.02 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,520 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 Thong 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 Thong?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Thong leans strongly male. 2,762 people counted with this name were male (89.5%), compared with 325 female bearers (10.5%). 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 Thong?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Thong is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.6%. The next largest groups are White (0.6%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Thong most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Thong in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.6% (3,047 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 Thong in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Thong a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Thong 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 Thong still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Thong 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 Thong 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 Thong?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.