TOMKINSON
The surname Tomkinson is of English origin and derives from the personal name Thomas, which itself is sourced from the Aramaic byname Teoma meaning twin. The suffix -kin is a diminutive indicator, so that Tomkinson literally translates to son of Thomas or son of the twin; it is therefore a patronymic surname that denotes descent from a male ancestor named Thomas.
Thomas was a common biblical name in medieval England, initially used only by clergy before the Norman Conquest of 1066. After that period it became one of the most popular male given names in England, giving rise to a wide variety of surnames. A diminutive form of Thomas, Tomkin (meaning little Tom), first appears in the Eynesham Cartulary (Oxford, 1323) as Thomekyn. Variants such as Tomkyns and Tumkyns appear in 1327 subsidy rolls in Staffordshire, and the first recorded patronymic variant, Tomkynson, is dated 1393 in Suffolk.
Spelling variations have accumulated over the centuries, with forms such as Thomkinson, Tompkinson, Thomasen and others appearing in historical records. The name remains distinctly English but has spread widely; in the United Kingdom it is most common in Greater Manchester, although it is also found throughout other English counties.
In the United States the surname is best represented in the state of Ohio, where it is borne by thousands of individuals. It is also found in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, among other nations. In places such as South West England and South Africa it can be identified in regional registers, and its presence in Ireland dates back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with over five hundred bearers recorded in that period.
The coat of arms belonging to William Tomkinson of 1770, commemorated in Davenham Church in Cheshire, features a cross patoncee set between four black martlets upon a blue shield, a heraldic device that further anchors the surname within local English lineage.
Common variants of the surname include Tomkynson, Tomkins, Tomkenson, Tomkisson, Tomkison, Tomkiss, Tomkin, Tomkens, Temkinson, Tomson, Thomson, Tompkinson, and Thompson. These forms all originate from the same Anglo‑Norman root and reflect regional spelling practices over the centuries.
Typical given names associated with the Tomkinson surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- Graham
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Stephen
- Stuart
Female
- Barbara
- Claire
- Deborah
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Jane
- Jennifer
- Joan
- Julie
- Jw
- Margaret
- Megan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Tomkinson in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 3,441 people named Tomkinson in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,655th most common surname in Britain. Around 53 in a million people in Britain are named Tomkinson.
Famous people named Tomkinson
- Francis Tomkinson - Cricketer (1883 to 1963)
- Henry Tomkinson - Cricketer (1831 to 1906)
- Geoffrey Tomkinson - Cricketer (1881 to 1963)
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.