Thurston
Thurston was given to 5 boys in 2025, #13,691 among boys’ names; 3,501 Americans have been recorded with it since 1884 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,700 Americans named Thurston and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (49% of everyone recorded); the median is 50 years old and half are between 29 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Thurston by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Thurston mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Thurston is “a male given name from the Germanic languages, occasional transferred use of the surname.”
/ˈθɝs.tən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Thurston?
#13,691 among boys’ names, 2025
Thurston fell from #5,033 in 2015 to #13,691 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 9.9 to 2.9 per million.
73 babies in 1918, the peak
Thurston peaked in 1918, when 73 boys were given it, #759 among boys’ names. The 5 births of 2025 are 7% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #13,691 | 2.9 |
| 2024 | 10 | #8,253 | 5.8 |
| 2023 | 8 | #9,653 | 4.7 |
| 2022 | 9 | #8,907 | 5.2 |
| 2021 | 13 | #6,633 | 7.4 |
| 2020 | 11 | #7,445 | 6.4 |
| 2019 | 12 | #7,125 | 6.7 |
| 2018 | 7 | #10,627 | 3.9 |
| 2017 | 11 | #7,492 | 5.9 |
| 2016 | 16 | #5,765 | 8.4 |
Every recorded year (127)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 19 | #5,033 | 9.9 |
| 2014 | 15 | #5,967 | 7.8 |
| 2013 | 24 | #4,166 | 12.7 |
| 2012 | 16 | #5,691 | 8.4 |
| 2011 | 28 | #3,779 | 14.7 |
| 2010 | 24 | #4,220 | 12.5 |
| 2009 | 18 | #5,290 | 9.1 |
| 2008 | 23 | #4,374 | 11.3 |
| 2007 | 21 | #4,622 | 10.1 |
| 2006 | 21 | #4,498 | 10.2 |
| 2005 | 20 | #4,445 | 10.0 |
| 2004 | 18 | #4,771 | 9.1 |
| 2003 | 15 | #5,233 | 7.6 |
| 2002 | 11 | #6,478 | 5.7 |
| 2001 | 13 | #5,631 | 6.7 |
| 2000 | 13 | #5,546 | 6.6 |
| 1999 | 15 | #4,728 | 7.8 |
| 1998 | 10 | #6,255 | 5.2 |
| 1997 | 17 | #4,034 | 9.0 |
| 1996 | 15 | #4,375 | 7.9 |
| 1995 | 16 | #4,026 | 8.4 |
| 1994 | 14 | #4,507 | 7.2 |
| 1993 | 15 | #4,194 | 7.6 |
| 1992 | 23 | #2,984 | 11.5 |
| 1991 | 29 | #2,456 | 14.4 |
| 1990 | 10 | #5,330 | 4.9 |
| 1989 | 24 | #2,679 | 12.0 |
| 1988 | 28 | #2,241 | 14.6 |
| 1987 | 22 | #2,548 | 11.8 |
| 1986 | 21 | #2,592 | 11.4 |
| 1985 | 21 | #2,493 | 11.4 |
| 1984 | 25 | #2,154 | 13.9 |
| 1983 | 24 | #2,202 | 13.4 |
| 1982 | 21 | #2,416 | 11.6 |
| 1981 | 27 | #2,031 | 15.1 |
| 1980 | 30 | #1,905 | 16.8 |
| 1979 | 29 | #1,902 | 16.8 |
| 1978 | 24 | #2,063 | 14.6 |
| 1977 | 17 | #2,652 | 10.3 |
| 1976 | 24 | #2,045 | 15.3 |
| 1975 | 19 | #2,356 | 12.2 |
| 1974 | 32 | #1,578 | 20.4 |
| 1973 | 32 | #1,545 | 20.5 |
| 1972 | 24 | #1,868 | 14.8 |
| 1971 | 41 | #1,328 | 23.2 |
| 1970 | 32 | #1,517 | 17.2 |
| 1969 | 27 | #1,599 | 15.1 |
| 1968 | 32 | #1,390 | 18.4 |
| 1967 | 25 | #1,568 | 14.3 |
| 1966 | 21 | #1,719 | 11.8 |
| 1965 | 30 | #1,423 | 16.1 |
| 1964 | 31 | #1,429 | 15.6 |
| 1963 | 30 | #1,449 | 14.8 |
| 1962 | 34 | #1,361 | 16.4 |
| 1961 | 32 | #1,434 | 15.1 |
| 1960 | 34 | #1,380 | 15.9 |
| 1959 | 33 | #1,381 | 15.5 |
| 1958 | 47 | #1,127 | 22.1 |
| 1957 | 39 | #1,263 | 18.1 |
| 1956 | 38 | #1,255 | 18.0 |
| 1955 | 29 | #1,451 | 14.1 |
| 1954 | 25 | #1,553 | 12.3 |
| 1953 | 27 | #1,475 | 13.7 |
| 1952 | 31 | #1,376 | 15.9 |
| 1951 | 41 | #1,137 | 21.8 |
| 1950 | 28 | #1,388 | 15.6 |
| 1949 | 44 | #1,070 | 24.8 |
| 1948 | 34 | #1,252 | 19.4 |
| 1947 | 37 | #1,208 | 20.2 |
| 1946 | 39 | #1,121 | 24.0 |
| 1945 | 50 | #914 | 37.2 |
| 1944 | 42 | #1,017 | 30.8 |
| 1943 | 29 | #1,306 | 20.3 |
| 1942 | 29 | #1,313 | 21.0 |
| 1941 | 34 | #1,148 | 27.7 |
| 1940 | 33 | #1,180 | 28.5 |
| 1939 | 32 | #1,163 | 28.9 |
| 1938 | 30 | #1,219 | 27.0 |
| 1937 | 39 | #1,030 | 36.6 |
| 1936 | 27 | #1,293 | 26.0 |
| 1935 | 34 | #1,147 | 32.6 |
| 1934 | 38 | #1,075 | 36.8 |
| 1933 | 38 | #1,075 | 38.3 |
| 1932 | 31 | #1,233 | 29.7 |
| 1931 | 44 | #1,012 | 42.3 |
| 1930 | 45 | #1,036 | 41.0 |
| 1929 | 38 | #1,135 | 35.3 |
| 1928 | 52 | #948 | 46.9 |
| 1927 | 39 | #1,160 | 34.6 |
| 1926 | 51 | #960 | 45.9 |
| 1925 | 45 | #1,038 | 40.3 |
| 1924 | 67 | #835 | 59.1 |
| 1923 | 56 | #920 | 51.1 |
| 1922 | 55 | #947 | 50.5 |
| 1921 | 72 | #803 | 65.4 |
| 1920 | 67 | #824 | 62.9 |
| 1919 | 55 | #907 | 56.1 |
| 1918 | 73 | #759 | 72.0 |
| 1917 | 54 | #874 | 58.3 |
| 1916 | 42 | #996 | 47.2 |
| 1915 | 64 | #756 | 75.4 |
| 1914 | 39 | #883 | 59.6 |
| 1913 | 45 | #679 | 87.8 |
| 1912 | 26 | #891 | 60.5 |
| 1911 | 14 | #921 | 62.0 |
| 1910 | 16 | #779 | 82.4 |
| 1909 | 10 | #1,015 | 61.0 |
| 1908 | 7 | #1,201 | 45.4 |
| 1907 | 5 | #1,523 | 34.1 |
| 1905 | 9 | #913 | 68.0 |
| 1904 | 8 | #957 | 62.4 |
| 1903 | 7 | #997 | 58.7 |
| 1902 | 8 | #920 | 65.2 |
| 1900 | 11 | #831 | 73.1 |
| 1898 | 9 | #797 | 73.4 |
| 1895 | 5 | #1,224 | 42.6 |
| 1884 | 7 | #841 | 61.2 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Thurston a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Thurston has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 127 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Thurston: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Thurston, and how old are they?
1,700 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 49% of the 3,501 Americans ever recorded as Thurston. The median Thurston alive today is 50 years old; half are between 29 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 1,602 people named Thurston (19 women and girls, 1,583 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,835 born in the U.S. The Census count is 13% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 125 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 429 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 387 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 318 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 279 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 159 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Thurston born?
The states with the most babies named Thurston are North Carolina, Alabama and Texas, with 66% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Alabama is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 267 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| Alabama | 69 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Texas | 55 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Tennessee | 40 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| New York | 36 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Virginia | 29 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| California | 26 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Georgia | 22 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Kentucky | 18 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Arkansas | 16 | not ranked | 0.3× |
Where Thurston is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Thurston is most over-represented in North Carolina: since 1910 it was given 2.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Thurston with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Thurston
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Thurston and names like it
- Compare Thurston and RudolfBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sThurston peaked in 1918.
- North Carolina’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Thurston since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Thurston: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Thurston.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Thurston alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with TMost given first.