Thomas Jefferson
There are approximately 278 people named Thomas Jefferson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,232,929 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Thomas with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Jefferson. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
278
1 in 1,232,929
Named Thomas
1.5M
Alive today
Named Jefferson
62K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 1.5M
Rarity: Very Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1952
Average age: 55
Top Census group: White (87.0%)
Estimated bearers: 62K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #615
Per 100K: 17.95
Top ancestry: Black (71.6%)
First name trend
Thomas: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Thomas. The peak year was 1952 with 48,728 births. The average person named Thomas today is 55 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thomas
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Thomas, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 87.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name 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 name Thomas at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White87.0% · 1,310,638
- Black or African American4.7% · 70,115
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 58,403
- Two or more races2.3% · 35,273
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 24,934
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 7,241
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Jefferson surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Jefferson, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Black at 71.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Jefferson 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 Jefferson at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American71.6% · 38,387
- White16.9% · 9,079
- Two or more races5.7% · 3,068
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 1,943
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 899
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 270
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Thomas has a living-bearer frequency of 0.4517% of the US population, based on 1,548,322 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 Thomas right now.
The surname Jefferson appears at a rate of 17.95 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0179%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 278 people with the full name Thomas Jefferson. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Thomas
Related
Other people with the surname Jefferson
FAQ
Thomas Jefferson: questions and answers
How many people are named Thomas Jefferson?
We estimate approximately 278 people in the United States share the full name Thomas Jefferson. That works out to about 1 in 1,232,929 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.4517%) with the surname frequency (17.95 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Thomas Jefferson?
We classify Thomas Jefferson as "Very Rare". About 1 in 1,232,929 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Thomas a male or female name?
Thomas is predominantly male. Out of 2,360,128 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Thomas 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 Thomas Jefferson?
Want to know how many people are called Thomas Jefferson? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.