Scott Thornton
There are approximately 194 people named Scott Thornton living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,766,775 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Scott with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Thornton. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
194
1 in 1,766,775
Named Scott
680K
Alive today
Named Thornton
98K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 680K
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1971
Average age: 54
Estimated bearers: 98K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #373
Per 100K: 28.47
Top ancestry: White (67.4%)
First name trend
Scott: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Scott. The peak year was 1971 with 31,035 births. The average person named Scott today is 54 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Thornton surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Thornton, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 67.4%.
- White67.4%
- Black or African American27.1%
- Two or more races2.3%
- Hispanic or Latino2.1%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Scott has a living-bearer frequency of 0.1985% of the US population, based on 680,373 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Thornton appears at a rate of 28.47 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0285%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 194 people with the full name Scott Thornton. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Scott
Related
Other people with the surname Thornton
FAQ
Scott Thornton: questions and answers
How many people are named Scott Thornton?
We estimate approximately 194 people in the United States share the full name Scott Thornton. That works out to about 1 in 1,766,775 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.1985%) with the surname frequency (28.47 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Scott Thornton?
We classify Scott Thornton as "Very Rare". About 1 in 1,766,775 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Scott a male or female name?
Scott is predominantly male. Out of 777,059 total SSA registrations, 99.7% were male and 0.3% were female. See the full Scott 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 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.