THOMPSON
Recorded variant spellings include Thom Pson
The Thompson Surname: A Scottish Patronymic
The family name Thompson is principally of Scottish origin, deriving from the medieval personal name Thomas. The name Thomas itself is of Biblical provenance, an Aramaic by‑name meaning “twin”, and was borne by one of the twelve disciples of Christ. In the British Isles the name entered common usage after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when it rapidly became one of the most popular male given names.
As a patronymic surname, Thompson originally signified “son of Thomas”. The formation follows a common pattern in which the suffix “‑son” is added to a diminutive of the personal name – in this case the diminutive “Thom” or “Tom”. The Scottish variant without the intrusive “p” is Thomson; the English and Irish forms, which include the “p”, emerged in the fourteenth century and were introduced for ease of pronunciation, not as a marker of status or religion.
Early documentary evidence of the name appears in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The earliest recorded spelling is that of John Thomson in the “Annals of Scotland” in 1318, during the reign of King Robert I (the Bruce). An English occurrence is found in the Charters of the Abbey of Whitby, Yorkshire, where John Thompson is mentioned in 1349. Later, Thomas Tomson married Elizabeth Harris in Dublin on 12 December 1631, illustrating the name’s spread to Ireland.
The heraldic tradition of the family includes a coat of arms granted in Yorkshire in 1559, described as “per fess silver and black, with a fesse embattled between three falcons counterchanged, belled, beaked and jessed in gold”. The crest features an arm holding a gold truncheon.
Migration of bearers of the surname to the New World is documented early; William Thompson was recorded as residing at Elizabeth Cittie, Virginia before 16 February 1623. By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the name had become one of the most common surnames throughout the English‑speaking world, particularly in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and later in the United Kingdom at large.
In contemporary British society the surname Thompson is usually associated with Christian ancestry and English language usage, reflecting its origins as a patronymic derived from a biblical forename. Its enduring prevalence attests to the lasting influence of medieval naming practices on modern British onomastics.
Typical given names associated with the Thompson surname
Male
- Andrew
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- William
Female
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Julie
- Margaret
- Mary
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Thhompson
- Thimpson
- Thmopson
- Thmpson
- Thomason
- Thomasson
- Thomeson
- Thomison
- Thommason
- Thomoson
- Thompeson
- Thomphson
- Thompon
- Thomposn
- Thompsen
- Thompsin
- Thompsn
- Thompso
- Thompsom
- Thompsone
- Thompsons
- Thompspon
- Thompston
- Thomptson
- Thomsen
- Thomso
- Thomsom
- Thomson
- Thomspon
- Thomspson
- Thomsson
- Thomston
- Timpson
- Tomason
- Tombson
- Tomeson
- Tomison
- Tompson
- Tomsen
- 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 Thompson in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Thompson are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Party ring.
There are approximately 170,076 people named Thompson in the UK. That makes it the 16th most common surname in Britain. Around 2,612 in a million people in Britain are named Thompson.
Surname type: From name of parent
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Thompson
- Emma Thompson - Actress and writer
- Tessa Thompson - American actress
- Nathaniel Thompson - Rapper
- Sophie Thompson - Actress
- Eric Thompson - Actor (1929 to 1982)
- Kenan Thompson - American actor
- E. P. Thompson - Historian, writer, socialist and peace campaigner (1924 to 1993)
- Linda Thompson - Actress, songwriter
- Jasmine Thompson - Singer
- Richard Thompson - Recording artist; singer, songwriter, guitarist
- Lea Thompson - American actress of film and theatre, and director of TV productions
- Hunter S. Thompson - American journalist and author (1937 to 2005)
- Tristan Thompson - Canadian professional basketball player
- James Thompson - Professional mixed martial artist
- Antony Worrall Thompson - Television chef
- Daley Thompson - Decathlete
- Louise Thompson - Reality television personality
- Pearl Thompson - Musician best known for being a member of The Cure
- Chris Thompson - Musician
- Phil Thompson - Football player and manager
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.