2000
#9,536
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,127
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.16
Rare Last name
Thiessen
A German occupational surname referring to a person who gathered or tithed for the church.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,083 Americans carry the last name Thiessen. That puts it at #8,832 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,947 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thiessen surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
4.1K
1 in 83,947
Census rank
#8,832
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,561 bearers of the surname Thiessen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8832nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thiessen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thiessen
The surname Thiessen originates from the Low German and Dutch language areas, specifically from the regions of northern Germany and the Netherlands. It is derived from the personal name Thies or Thiess, which is a shortened form of the Germanic name Theodoric or Dietrich, meaning "ruler of the people."
Thiessen is a patronymic surname, meaning it was originally formed by adding the suffix "-sen" or "-sen" to the father's given name, indicating "son of Thies." This naming convention was common in Germanic regions during the Middle Ages and early modern period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Thiessen can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from Bremen, Germany, dating back to the 13th century. The name is also mentioned in various medieval records and charters from the northern German regions of Holstein and Friesland.
In the 16th century, the Thiessen surname appeared in the Dutch province of Friesland, where it was sometimes spelled as "Thjessen" or "Thiyszen." This variation in spelling was common due to regional dialects and the lack of standardized spelling conventions at the time.
Notable individuals with the surname Thiessen include:
1. Gerhard Thiessen (1474-1541), a German Protestant reformer and theologian from Friesland, known for his work in promoting the Reformation in northern Germany.
2. Johann Thiessen (1640-1699), a Dutch-German artist and engraver from Hamburg, famous for his intricate copperplate etchings and portraits.
3. Anna Thiessen (1829-1892), a German-Russian Mennonite author and pioneer in the Mennonite settlements of Ukraine, known for her memoirs and writings on the Mennonite experience in Russia.
4. Cornelius Thiessen (1857-1931), a Dutch-Canadian farmer and community leader who played a significant role in the Mennonite migration from Russia to Canada in the late 19th century.
5. Jakob Thiessen (1876-1949), a German-Russian Mennonite writer and educator, known for his contributions to Mennonite literature and education in the Soviet Union.
The surname Thiessen has also been associated with various place names, such as Thiessow, a village in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Thiessenbusch, a region in the Dutch province of Friesland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thiessen
Among Census respondents with the surname Thiessen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Thiessen bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Thiessen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 3,171
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 165
- Two or more races4.2% · 148
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 28
- Black or African American0.8% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thiessen
Thiessen appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,519
+392 bearers (+12.5%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Up 283 places
2020
#8,832
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,561
+42 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Up 421 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,536 | 3,127 | 1.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,253 | 3,519 | 1.19 | +392 bearers (+12.5%) | Up 283 places |
| 2020 | #8,832 | 3,561 | 1.19 | +42 bearers (+1.2%) | Up 421 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Thiessen surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,253 | #8,832 | 4.5% |
| Count | 3,519 | 3,561 | 1.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.19 | 1.19 | 0.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thiessen bearers went from 3,519 to 3,561 (+1.2% change). The surname moved up 421 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,253 to #8,832.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Thiessen
FAQ
Thiessen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thiessen?
Name Census estimates that about 4,083 living Americans carry the surname Thiessen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,947 residents.
How common is Thiessen?
Thiessen ranks #8,832 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.19 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,561 people with the surname Thiessen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,083), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.19 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Thiessen.
Has Thiessen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thiessen went from 3,519 recorded bearers to 3,561. That is an increase of 42 (+1.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,253 to #8,832.
What does the Census say about the background of Thiessen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thiessen, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Thiessen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (3,171 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thiessen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Hispanic (4.6%), Two or More Races (4.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Thiessen (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Thiessen mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who gathered or tithed for the church. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Thiessen (1.19 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Thiessen?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Thiessen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.