Thiessen
A Germanic surname most likely meaning “son of Thies,” with Thies being a short form of Matthias or Matthew in some regions.
The #9,253 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 87,737 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Thiessen is a patronymic surname built on the short form Thies, which in northern German usage could serve as a reduced form of Matthias, and in some contexts Matthew as well. The ending -en is a common German patronymic or family-form element, giving the sense of “descendant of Thies” or “Thies’s family.” The older sources also show related forms such as Thiesing, Theissen, Tissen, and Tyssen.
History
The surname is especially associated with Low German and northern German naming patterns, and it also appears in Dutch and Mennonite surname traditions. Historical scholarship cited the related forms Thiess, Thiessen, and Theissen alongside other Thies- based surnames. In English-speaking countries, Thiessen is found among immigrant descendants, especially from German-speaking Europe.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century source notes that Latinized scholarly spellings could turn forms like Thiess or Thiessen into Thysius.
From the historical record
“Thiesmeyer. Gen. Thiesen. Patr. A. Thiesing. Patr. Zss. Thiessen — Tissen — Theissen — Tyssen.”
— Die deutschen FamiliennamenNotable people named Thiessen
- Tiffani Thiessen (b. 1974)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.