Boys' name · since 1884
Thurston
3,501 babies named Thurston in U.S. Social Security records since 1884, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #2,285 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #12,041 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 3,501
- born since 1884
- 1920s
- peak decade
Yes -- Thurston is the #12041 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 3,501 recorded since 1884.
Thurston has 3,501 recorded births among boys since 1884, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #12041 as of the latest data, more common than 14% of boys, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1884 to 2025.
- #2,285 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #12,041 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 3,501 born since 1884
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Thurston ranks #2,285 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #12,041 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 3,501 born since 1884, peaking in the 1920s.
- #2,285 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #12,041 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 3,501
- born since 1884
- 1920s
- peak decade
Thurston's 3,501 recorded births place it above 94.97% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
12 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by North Carolina.
How Thurston compares
3,501 Top 16% higher than 84% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Thurston's all-time total is 9x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Thurston | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 3,501 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 73 | 34 | 22,252 |
Thurston's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Thurston's full recorded timeline at 1962, 37% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 63% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1895, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1918 peak of 73 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Thurston popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1884–2025
- Peak year (1918)
- 73
- Annual births at peak, across 142 years of records
Thurston by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (542 births, 15% of the file).
1920s was Thurston's strongest decade.
542 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 15% of all-time use.
Thurston births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 7
1880s
7 births
- 1890s 14
1890s
14 births
- 1900s 65
1900s
65 births
- 1910s
1910s
428 births
- 1920s
1920s
542 births
- 1930s
1930s
358 births
- 1940s
1940s
371 births
- 1950s
1950s
338 births
- 1960s
1960s
296 births
- 1970s
1970s
274 births
- 1980s
1980s
243 births
- 1990s 164
1990s
164 births
- 2000s 173
2000s
173 births
- 2010s 172
2010s
172 births
- 2020s 56
2020s
56 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 542 births (15% of all-time use).
How Thurston compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Thurston's total volume
Thurston by state
Where Thurston concentrates geographically, total births since 1884
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | North Carolina | | 267 | 7.6% |
| #2 | Alabama | | 69 | 2.0% |
| #3 | Texas | | 55 | 1.6% |
| #4 | Tennessee | | 40 | 1.1% |
| #5 | New York | | 36 | 1.0% |
| #6 | Virginia | | 29 | 0.8% |
| #7 | California | | 26 | 0.7% |
| #8 | Georgia | | 22 | 0.6% |
267 of 3,501 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 12 reporting states.
Thurston appears in 12 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Thurston? ▼
Where does Thurston sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Thurston most popular? ▼
Where is Thurston most popular? ▼
How long has the name Thurston been used? ▼
What names are similar to Thurston? ▼
What to do with Thurston's data
- Thurston's decade-level peak was the 1920s (542 total births); usage has since declined to 56 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- North Carolina records the most Thurstons (267 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. North Carolina names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Thurston
Nearby Names Like Thurston
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Thurston
Compare Thurston side by side: Thurston vs Thurman Thurston vs Thurmon Thurston vs Thurmond
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Thurston
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Thurston: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1918)
Similar record span (~141 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1884–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Thurston draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.