Given name & surname
Thornton
“from the town of thorn bushes”
Thornton is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the town of thorn bushes.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the town of thorn bushes.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Thornton through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,132
- 3,132 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 75 babies
- 2025
- 10
- #8,190 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −46%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 10 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 8,190 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 75 in 1921. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,211 as a first name in 2020; 77,910 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Thornton’s family of names
Thornton has a related form in Thorntan. Thornton has a related form in Thornten. Thornton has a related form in Thorntown.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Thornton
- Thornton WilderAmerican playwright and novelist (1897–1975)
- T. HeeAmerican animator, director and teacher (1911–1988)
- Thornton Freelandfilm director (1898–1987)
- Thornton W. BurgessAmerican writer and conservationist (1874–1965)
- Thornton ChaseAmerican poet (1847–1912)
- Thornton WilsonAmerican businessman (1921-1999)
- Thornton Jenkins HainsAmerican writer (1866–1953)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Thornton, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Thurston
“from Thor's town; Thor's stone”
>99% boys
Fenton
“from the town near the marsh”
>99% boys
Hilton
“a wealthy woman” · “from the town on the hill”
85% boys · 15% girls
Morton
“from the town near the moor”
>99% boys
Linton
“from the flax town”
>99% boys
Merton
“from the village near the pond” · “from the town near the lake”
>99% boys
Newton
“from the new town”
>99% boys
Wellington
“estate”
>99% boys