THOMASON
Thomason is a patronymic surname that finds its roots in the personal name Thomas, a name of biblical origin that was popularised by Saint Thomas the Apostle. The original Aramaic form Toma means “twin”, a meaning that is retained in the English cognate.
The construction of the surname follows the pattern common in the British Isles whereby a child is identified as the son of a particular father. The element ‑son indicates “son of Thomas”, so a man called Thomason was literally understood as Thomas's son. This practice of using a patronymic to distinguish individuals with the same given name was especially common in small communities.
Within the United Kingdom the name occurs in a number of compound forms. In Scotland the frequent variants include Thompson and Thomson, while in the north a Gaelicised form such as MacThomson or MacThomsoune can be found. Other British spellings reported in medieval records are Thomasson, Thomerson and simply Thomas. These variations all share the same etymological origin.
Recorded examples of the surname appear in authentic rolls and registers of the medieval period. In England, the name is seen as Richard Thome of York in 1293, Walter Thomas of Warwickshire in the Hundred Rolls of 1301, and in Germany, Dieter Thumm of Wolfschlugen in 1327. One of the earliest emigrants to the New England colonies was Christopher Thomas, who departed London on the ship Plaine Joan on 7 May 1635 bound for Virginia. The first assured spelling of the family appears in the record of Henneko Thom, a resident of Hamburg, Germany, in 1252.
Across Europe the surname has taken on many linguistic adaptations, reflecting the spread of the Christian name Thomas through religious influence and the Crusades. Variants include the Italian Tommasi and Toma, the Germanic Thom, Thoma, Thumm and Thome, the Slavonic Tomaschek, the Russian Fominov and the Belorussian Tomich or Khomich. In Scandinavia the form Thomasson is observed, while in Eastern Europe versions such as Tomušević and Tomic exist. All remain effusions of the same root name Thomas.
In modern times the surname continues to serve as a marker of ancestral lineage. Its prevalence in various regions, particularly within the British Isles, remains a testament to the enduring influence of patronymic naming practices in Anglo‑Scottish history.
Typical given names associated with the Thomason surname
Male
- Alan
- Andrew
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
Female
- Barbara
- Christine
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Joan
- Karen
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Rosemary
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Thomas
- Thomasson
- Thomerson
- Tomkin
- Tamlyn
- Tamplin
- Tompsett
- Thoms
- Thomlinson
- Tompson
- Thomson
- Tomlinson
- Thom
- Tompkins
- Toms
- Tomkinson
- Taplin
- Thomasen
- Thomasin
- Thomarson
- Thamson
- Thomass
- Thomassen
- Thomassin
- Thomaston
- Thomazin
- Thomesen
- Thomeson
- Thomison
- Thomissen
- Thomlison
- Thommason
- Thommesen
- Thomoson
- Thompeson
- Thompson
- Thompsons
- Thomsan
- Thomsen
- Thomsson
- Tomasino
- Tomaso
- Tomason
- Tomasso
- Tomasson
- Tomeson
- Tommasino
- Tommaso
- Tommason
- Tommasone
- Tomson
- Tomsons
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Thomason in...
Braille
⠞⠓⠕⠍⠁⠎⠕⠝
Morse
-....-----.-...----.
Semaphore
There are approximately 2,815 people named Thomason in the UK. That makes it roughly the 3,174th most common surname in Britain. Around 43 in a million people in Britain are named Thomason.
Surname type: From given name or forename
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Scotland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Thomason
- Marsha Thomason - Actress
- James Thomason - Administrator in India (1804 to 1853)
- Roy Thomason - Politician
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.