2000
#12,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,220
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.82
Rare Last name
Thornberry
An English locational surname referring to someone who lived near a thorny hill or mound.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,429 Americans carry the last name Thornberry. That puts it at #13,700 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 141,109 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thornberry 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Thornberry with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 141,109
Census rank
#13,700
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,118 bearers of the surname Thornberry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13700th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thornberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thornberry
The surname Thornberry originated in England and has been recorded since the 13th century. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words 'thorn' meaning a hawthorn bush and 'bury' meaning a fortified manor or dwelling place. Therefore, it was likely given to someone who lived near a hawthorn bush or a thorn-covered hill.
The earliest known record of the name is found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where it appears as Thornbiry. Other early spellings include Thornbery, Thornberie, and Thornberry. The name was particularly prevalent in the counties of Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several references to places called Thornbury or similar variations, such as Thornberia in Gloucestershire and Thornberie in Wiltshire. These place names likely contributed to the development of the Thornberry surname.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was John Thornbery, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1327. Another early bearer was William Thornbury, who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Wiltshire in 1332.
Notable individuals with the surname Thornberry include:
1. Sir John Thornberry (c. 1445 – 1515), an English merchant and Member of Parliament for Bristol in 1491 and 1510.
2. Thomas Thornberry (c. 1570 – 1635), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works.
3. Edward Thornberry (1767 – 1846), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.
4. Walter Thornberry (1836 – 1902), an American politician who served as a US Congressman from Texas from 1887 to 1891.
5. Sir James Thornberry (1887 – 1962), a British judge and Lord Justice of Appeal who was known for his work in reforming the legal system.
The Thornberry surname has been found across various parts of the United Kingdom and has also been carried to other countries by British emigrants over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thornberry
Among Census respondents with the surname Thornberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Thornberry 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 Thornberry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 1,961
- Two or more races3.8% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
- Black or African American0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thornberry
Thornberry 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
#13,646
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,219
-1 bearers (-0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 889 places
2020
#13,700
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,118
-101 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 54 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,757 | 2,220 | 0.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,646 | 2,219 | 0.75 | -1 bearers (-0.0%) | Down 889 places |
| 2020 | #13,700 | 2,118 | 0.71 | -101 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 54 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 Thornberry 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 | #13,646 | #13,700 | -0.4% |
| Count | 2,219 | 2,118 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.71 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thornberry bearers went from 2,219 to 2,118 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 54 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,646 to #13,700.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Thornberry
FAQ
Thornberry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thornberry?
Name Census estimates that about 2,429 living Americans carry the surname Thornberry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 141,109 residents.
How common is Thornberry?
Thornberry ranks #13,700 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 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 2,118 people with the surname Thornberry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,429), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 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 Thornberry.
Has Thornberry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thornberry went from 2,219 recorded bearers to 2,118. That is a decrease of 101 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,646 to #13,700.
What does the Census say about the background of Thornberry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thornberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Thornberry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (1,961 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thornberry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Thornberry (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 Thornberry mean?
An English locational surname referring to someone who lived near a thorny hill or mound. 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 Thornberry (0.71 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 Thornberry?
You can see how many people have the surname Thornberry on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.