Thor

Did you know?

A few things about Thor you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Thor

Thor Heyerdahl

Norwegian anthropologist and adventurer (1914-2002)

Choose Thor and your child shares a first name with Thor Heyerdahl, a Norwegian anthropologist and adventurer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Thor, like who?” Thor Heyerdahl's Wikipedia article is available in 88 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Thor Heyerdahl on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: uncredited, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 38,760 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Thor, 44 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Thor would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryThor first shows up in US birth records in 1904, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 121 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1968, when it ranked #877. Today it's #2,833, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🍂TrendThor has slipped 1,067 places over the last five years and now sits at #2,833. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 💬MeaningIn Norse, Thor means “thunder”.
• 🌍OriginThor is the #4 most popular Icelandic boy name in the US. That's out of 20 Icelandic boy and unisex names in our list.

About the name Thor

Thor is a boy name of Icelandic origin meaning “thunder”. It has 4 letters and 1 syllable, starting with T and ending in “-hor”. US birth records list Thor for boys from 1904 to 2025, in 115 of those 122 years. Its best year was 1968, when it ranked #877 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #2,833, with 44 babies.

Origin:Icelandic names