Explore the Family Name Thing

The meaning of Thing

English (Suffolk and Norfolk): nickname from Middle English thing(e), think(e), probably applied in the sense ‘living being, person’, although the precise motivation is unclear.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname 'Thing' has seen a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 102173 in popularity with 163 individuals bearing the name, whereas by 2010, it dropped to rank 108199 despite an increase in count to 164. This change in ranking indicates a decline of 5.9 percent. However, the proportion of people with this surname per 100,000 remained stable at 0.06.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#102,173	#108,199	-5.9%
Count	163	164	0.61%
Proportion per 100k	0.06	0.06	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Thing

Regarding the ethnic identity linked to the surname 'Thing', there have been substantial shifts from 2000 to 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The percentage of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander increased by 62.59 percent, going from 13.50 percent in 2000 to 21.95 percent in 2010. Similarly, those identifying as Hispanic saw an increase of 51.24 percent in the same period, rising from 14.11 percent to 21.34 percent. However, the percentage of those identifying as White dropped by 18.76 percent, from 63.80 percent to 51.83 percent. Lastly, the American Indian and Alaskan Native category experienced a decline of 30.34 percent, decreasing from 6.13 percent in 2000 to 4.27 percent in 2010. There were no changes reported for people identifying with two or more races or as Black.

	2000	2010	Change
White	63.8%	51.83%	-18.76%
Asian/Pacific Islander	13.5%	21.95%	62.59%
Hispanic	14.11%	21.34%	51.24%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	6.13%	4.27%	-30.34%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%