Thaís
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Meaning
possibly 'bandage' in Greek; the name of a companion of Alexander the Great (Portuguese form of Thaïs)
The story
Thaís is the Portuguese form of an ancient Greek name, used especially in Brazil, and every layer of it comes hedged straight from the sources. Behind the Name says the original, spelled Thais in Greek letters, possibly means bandage, and leaves it at possibly. Antiquity remembers a Greek woman of the name who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns. A fourth-century saint from Alexandria carried it next, a wealthy convert whose name, the entry notes, may have had a distinct Coptic origin instead. Art kept the name lit: Anatole France built an 1891 novel around the saint's story, and Jules Massenet turned it into an opera in 1894. In Brazil it is thoroughly established: the census counts 225,479 residents across its spellings, rank 140 nationwide, median age 27, with Taís as a common variant spelling worn by the actress Taís Araújo, born 1978. Spanish uses the plainer written form Thais. A name does not need a settled meaning when it arrives with this much story attached.
How popular is Thaís around the world?
Thaís does not appear in US Social Security baby-name records, which list only names given to at least five babies in a year. There is no popularity curve to chart: a genuinely rare pick. At the 2022 census, 225,479 people in Brazil were named Thaís, the 140th most common name, with a median age of 27.
Thaís is on the official records of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Montevideo, Spain, Mexico City and England and Wales.
Thaís crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of a Spanish-speaking record and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full list: Spanish and Portuguese
United States
under 5 a year
Thaís does not appear in US Social Security baby-name records, which list only names given to at least five babies in a year. There is no popularity curve to chart: a genuinely rare pick.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 900
At the 2022 census, 225,479 people in Brazil were named Thaís, the 140th most common name, with a median age of 27.
Among people named Thaís living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 1,848 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Argentina
1 in 2,100
In Argentina, 315 newborns were given the name Thaís in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Chile
1 in 3,000
In Chile, 60 girls were registered as Thaís in 2021, every accent spelling counted together, most often written Thais.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Montevideo City
1 in 3,500 · 2011
In Montevideo, 4 boys named Thaís were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
In Montevideo, 3 girls named Thaís were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Spain
1 in 10,000
In Spain, 4,467 residents are named Thaís, the 513th most common name among women, with a mean age of 25.6 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Mexico City City
1 in 17,000
In Mexico City, there were 7 registrations of Thaís in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
England and Wales
1 in 120,000
In England and Wales, 5 girls named Thaís were born in 2025, ranked 4,201st among girls that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
last on record 2022
Thaís is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Puerto Rico
last on record 2023
Thaís is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 183 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
South Australia
last on record 1993
Thaís is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Ireland, New Zealand and Scotland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Keep exploring
The Thaís deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Thaís truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Thaís fits with your family’s names and surname.
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