Explore the Family Name Silverthorn

The meaning of Silverthorn

English (mainly Bristol and Gwent): apparently a habitational name from some lost or unidentified place deriving its name from Old English seolfor ‘silver’ + thorn ‘thorn bush’. It is very local to the Steeple Ashton area of Wiltshire, and may even be from the proper name of a local tree such as a hawthorn (whitethorn).

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Silverthorn in the United States?

Based on the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Silverthorn has seen a slight decrease in rank from 23128 in 2000 to 23576 in 2010, reflecting a change of -1.94%. However, the count of individuals with this surname rose marginally by 4.46%, from 1031 in 2000 to 1077 in 2010. The proportion per 100k also experienced a minor reduction of 2.63% between the two census years.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#23,128	#23,576	-1.94%
Count	1,031	1,077	4.46%
Proportion per 100k	0.38	0.37	-2.63%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Silverthorn

Regarding the ethnicity of individuals bearing the Silverthorn surname according to the Decennial U.S. Census data, there was a notable increase of 106.35% in the percentage identifying as Hispanic, rising from 1.26% in 2000 to 2.60% in 2010. Those identifying as White decreased slightly by 1.51%, making up 94.18% in 2000 and dropping to 92.76% in 2010. Both Asian/Pacific Islander and Black ethnic identities displayed slight decreases in proportion, whereas those claiming two or more ethnicities showed an increase of 13.15%. The American Indian and Alaskan Native category remained consistent over the decade.

	2000	2010	Change
White	94.18%	92.76%	-1.51%
Hispanic	1.26%	2.6%	106.35%
Two or More Races	2.13%	2.41%	13.15%
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.07%	0.93%	-13.08%
Black	0.68%	0.65%	-4.41%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.68%	0.65%	-4.41%