# Thames (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/thames/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Latin |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 7,619 |
| US rank (2010) | 4,654 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 40,523 people |
| Change since 2000 | +8.0% (7,052 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /tɛmz/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Middle English Temse, Temese, from Old English Temes, Temese (compare Welsh Tafwys), from Latin Tamesis, Tamesas. Variant spellings with h arose in Middle English due to the mistaken assumption of a Greek etymology. The modern spelling with a stems from either the East Saxon dialects of Middle English and Old English or the influence of Tamesis. The Latin name is from Proto-Brythonic *Tamesis, from Proto-Celtic *tamesās (“river, waters”, literally “darkness”), a masculine ā-stem of *tames, Proto-Indo-European *tm̥Hes-, zero-grade of *témHes-, *témHos- (“darkness”), an s-stem from the root *temH- (“dark”). Related to Proto-Celtic *temeslos (“darkness”), *temos (“dark”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Thames in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 60% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 35% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Thames in the United States.

## People named Thames

- Mason Thames, American actor
- Eric Thames, American former professional baseball player
- Byron Thames, American television and film actor and musician

## Similar surnames

Thomas, Thoms, Tamez, Tomes, Tang, Tong, Tinoco, Tanaka, Towns, Tomas, Townes, Toms.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.