Explore the Family Name Thetford

The meaning of Thetford

English (Norfolk): habitational name from Thetford in Norfolk. The placename means ‘public ford’, from Old English thēod ‘nation, people’, also with the sense ‘common, public’, + ford ‘ford’.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Thetford ranked 19,828 in 2000 and slightly dropped to a rank of 20,382 in 2010, showing a minimal decline in popularity by 2.79%. The count of individuals bearing this surname increased from 1,255 in 2000 to 1,304 in 2010, marking an increase of 3.9%. However, the proportion per 100,000 people decreased by 6.38%, from 0.47 in 2000 to 0.44 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#19,828	#20,382	-2.79%
Count	1,255	1,304	3.9%
Proportion per 100k	0.47	0.44	-6.38%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Thetford

The Thetford surname's ethnic identity has seen some shifts over a decade, as per the data from the Decennial U.S. Census. For instance, those who identified as White were at 94.90% in 2000, which slightly decreased to 92.79% in 2010. The percentage of those with Hispanic ethnicity rose significantly from 1.27% in 2000 to 2.45% in 2010, showing a substantial increase of 92.91%. People identifying as having two or more races also saw a rise from 1.35% in 2000 to 2.30% in 2010, marking an increase of 70.37%. Those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander remained at 0% for both years. In 2010, there was a presence of American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicity within the Thetford surname holders, which was not present in 2000. However, the percentage of Black individuals decreased from 1.27% in 2000 to 0% in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	94.9%	92.79%	-2.22%
Hispanic	1.27%	2.45%	92.91%
Two or More Races	1.35%	2.3%	70.37%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	1.23%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	1.27%	0%	0%