The Thurman surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 23,950 people carried this name — #1,492 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 12,300 people counted. That is up 6% from 22,564 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Thurman surname

From an Old Norse personal name, formed by Þórr (“Thor”) + mundr (“protection”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Thurman» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Thormond’.

An early record he cites: Henry Thurmond, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Thorman, Thurman, Thormund and Thurmond.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 746 · public domain.

In the Nordic population registers

50 people named Thurman is counted in Finland.

Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Finland (2026) 50

Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Thurman was found among the farmers of Suffolk: 9 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Suffolk 9

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In print

Thurman in American newspapers,
1879–1888.

Newspaper page from People And Patriot carrying the name Thurman
People And Patriot 1888-06-14
Newspaper page from The New Orleans Daily Democrat carrying the name Thurman
The New Orleans Daily Democrat 1879-03-09
Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Thurman
The Portland Daily Press 1888-06-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 147,115 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Thurman in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1960s.

1,625 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Thurman. The most, 294, date from the 1940s. Victoria has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Tasmania, at 2.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 456
New South Wales 313
Tasmania 265
Queensland 223
South Australia 223
Western Australia 136
ACT (Canberra) 6

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Thurman.

Who carried it

People named Thurman,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Allan W. Thurman
    Allan W. Thurman d. 1922
  • Allen G. Thurman
    Allen G. Thurman 1813–1895 · judge
  • Lucy Thurman
    Lucy Thurman 1849–1918 · suffragist
  • Lucy Thurman
    Lucy Thurman 1849–1918 · suffragist
  • Mary Thurman
    Mary Thurman 1895–1925 · actor
  • John Thurman 1732–1809

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Thurman,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,287 records

1,287 records of the Thurman name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 790
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 326
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 95
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 24
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 23
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 18
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Joseph E. Thurman

    Born 1916 in Utah. Enlisted 1942 at San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, Texas; warehouseman from Salt Lake County. U.S. Air Force veteran; died 1973, buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery, Colorado.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Larry Preston Thurman

    Born 1948; from Dumas, Texas. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Kontum, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Conrad Thurman

    Arrived at New York in 1845 aboard the Europe from Bremen, aged 20; blacksmith. From Hesse Nassau, Germany; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,287 records for Thurman in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia82 records

82 records of the Thurman name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 40
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 18
  • Tasmanian Names Index 11
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 9
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 2
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Maria Thurman

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Hector, sailing from Woolwich in 1835. Native of Little Sutton, Warwickshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1842. Married 1842 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 27.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George Thurman

    Died 1913 in Launceston, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1913.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Emma Caroline Thurman

    Arrived in Queensland in 1883 aboard the Zamora, aged 7.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 82 records for Thurman in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Thurman name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record B. Thurman

    West Yorkshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. Thurman

    Leicestershire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Thurman in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France2 records

2 records of the Thurman name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Nigel Paul Thurman

    Born 1971 in Great Britain; died 1994 in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (Haute-Savoie).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Iris Joy Thurman

    Born 1933 in Great Britain; died 2000 in Beaugas (Lot-et-Garonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Finland2 records

2 records of the Thurman name in Finland Finland's war dead, 1939–1945
  1. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record Martti Vihtori Thurman

    Born 1923 in Laihia; labourer. Died in 1943 during Finland's wars of 1939–1945; buried in Valkeala.

    Kansallisarkisto, via WarSampo (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record Armas Thurman

    Born 1912 in Valkeala. Died during Finland's wars of 1939–1945; buried in Valkeala.

    Kansallisarkisto, via WarSampo (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Kansallisarkisto, via WarSampo (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Thurman name in Canada Canadian Virtual War Memorial
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Cecil Thurman

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Thurman name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Thomas Thurman

    Married in 1626 in Tiel.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Rivierenland (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Thurman name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mélanie Thurman

    Died 1869 in Kortijk.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Kortrijk (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Thurman.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Thurman is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Thurman volume
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