Thyme
Thyme is a culinary herb consisting of the dried aerial parts of some members of the genus Thymus of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are native to Mediterranean countries in North Africa, Levant and Southern Europe. Thymes have culinary, medicinal, and ornamental uses.
Meaning & Origin of Thyme
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Thyme is a culinary herb consisting of the dried aerial parts of some members of the genus Thymus of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are native to Mediterranean countries in North Africa, Levant and Southern Europe. Thymes have culinary, medicinal, and ornamental uses.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Origin & history
The Story of Thyme
As a girl name
Thyme first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a girl name in 1995, with 6 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1999: 9 births, good for #9,479 nationwide. About 34% of every Thyme on record arrived during the 1990s, its defining decade. Thyme last appeared in the published SSA data in 2022, with 7 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 58 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1990s to the 2020s.
As a boy name
American parents first put Thyme on the record books as a boy name in 2019, with 6 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 2019, when 6 Thymes were born — ranking #10,798 that year. Thyme last appeared in the published SSA data in 2019, with 6 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 6 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 2010s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Thyme
Phonetically similar names — useful when Thyme is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
- Them
- Theme
- Thumb
- Thine
- Thum
- Thm
- Tham
- Thim
- Thome
- Thein
- Thym
- Thiem
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Thyme
What does the name Thyme mean?
How popular is Thyme in 2026?
When was Thyme most popular?
Is Thyme a unisex name?
What names go well with Thyme?
About the name Thyme
Thyme is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1995 and has accumulated 58 births in the dataset. Thyme's peak popularity came in 1999 when it ranked #9,479. Use the chart and map above to compare Thyme's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1999 →
- Names of the 1990s →
- Names starting with "T" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
- Browse unisex names →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.