Tor
A Scandinavian masculine name derived from the god Thor, signifying thunder.
Name Census estimates that about 815 living Americans carry the first name Tor. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tor today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tor births was 1965 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tor. 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 Tor with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
815
~ 1 in 420,557 Americans
Peak year
1965
30 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,695
Tracked since 1950
Census
Tor in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 975 people with the first name Tor, which placed it at #12,678 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
#12,678
National first-name rank
People counted
975
975 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tor
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tor is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Tor 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 Tor at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.4% · 745
- Black or African American9.8% · 96
- Two or more races5.5% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.8% · 47
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Tor: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tor from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 150 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
Tor 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 Tor during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tors live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Washington recorded the most babies named Tor, while Washington, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tor
The name Tor has its roots in Old Norse, the language spoken by the ancient Scandinavian tribes. It is believed to have originated from the Old Norse word "þorr," which was the name of the god of thunder and fertility in Norse mythology. This name was later Latinized as "Thor," which is a more recognizable spelling for many people.
In Old Norse mythology, Thor was a powerful and revered deity. He was associated with strength, courage, and the protection of humankind. The name Tor would have been given to children with the hope that they would embody these qualities and enjoy the god's favor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tor can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which were written in the 13th and 14th centuries. These sagas were prose narratives that preserved the histories, legends, and cultural traditions of the Norse people.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tor. One of the earliest was Tor Herdebrei (c. 1020 – c. 1080), a Norwegian chieftain and Viking warrior who played a significant role in the Christianization of Norway. Another notable figure was Tor Jonsson (c. 1451 – 1530), a Swedish archbishop and statesman who played a crucial role in the Kalmar Union, a political union that united Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
In more recent times, Tor Nørretranders (born 1955) is a Danish author and philosopher known for his work on consciousness and the philosophy of science. Tor Arne Hetland (born 1974) is a Norwegian singer and songwriter who has achieved success in the rock and metal genres.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Tor was Tor Inge Viken (1957 – 2022), a Norwegian footballer who played as a striker for several clubs, including Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. He was a prolific goalscorer and is considered one of the greatest Norwegian footballers of all time.
People
Tor + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tor 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
Tor: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tor?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 815 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tor 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 420,557 US residents.
Is Tor a common name?
We classify Tor as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 869 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tor most popular?
The single biggest year for Tor was 1965, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tor 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 Tor in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 975 people with the name Tor, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,678 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 Tor 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 Tor?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tor leans strongly male. 935 people counted with this name were male (94.7%), compared with 52 female bearers (5.3%). 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 Tor?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tor is White at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Tor most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Tor in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.4% (745 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 Tor in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tor a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tor 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 Tor still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tor 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 Tor 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 common is the name Tor?
See how many Americans are named Tor on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.