Joyce Thomas
There are approximately 576 people named Joyce Thomas living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 595,060 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Joyce with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Thomas. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
576
1 in 595,060
Named Joyce
234K
Alive today
Named Thomas
842K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 234K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1942
Average age: 71
Top Census group: White (76.0%)
Estimated bearers: 842K
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #16
Per 100K: 245.68
Top ancestry: White (49.7%)
First name trend
Joyce: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Joyce. The peak year was 1942 with 16,807 births. The average person named Joyce today is 71 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joyce
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Joyce, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 76.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Joyce described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Joyce at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White76.0% · 246,499
- Black or African American15.9% · 51,401
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 11,678
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 7,047
- Two or more races1.8% · 5,977
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1,569
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Thomas surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Thomas, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 49.7%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Thomas described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Thomas at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White49.7% · 365,101
- Black or African American37.8% · 277,281
- Two or more races4.8% · 34,975
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 26,220
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 23,380
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 7,388
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Joyce has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0684% of the US population, based on 234,481 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Joyce right now.
The surname Thomas appears at a rate of 245.68 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.2457%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 576 people with the full name Joyce Thomas. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Joyce
Related
Other people with the surname Thomas
FAQ
Joyce Thomas: questions and answers
How many people are named Joyce Thomas?
We estimate approximately 576 people in the United States share the full name Joyce Thomas. That works out to about 1 in 595,060 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0684%) with the surname frequency (245.68 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Joyce Thomas?
We classify Joyce Thomas as "Very Rare". About 1 in 595,060 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Joyce a male or female name?
Joyce is predominantly female. Out of 511,995 total SSA registrations, 0.6% were male and 99.4% were female. See the full Joyce profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people are named Joyce Thomas?
You can see how many people are called Joyce Thomas on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.