Thomson
A Scottish and English surname meaning “son of Thomas,” a classic patronymic that spread widely in Britain and beyond.
The #1,440 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 12,475 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Thomson is a patronymic surname built from the medieval pet form Thom or Tom plus -son, literally meaning “son of Thom/Thomas.” The underlying personal name Thomas comes from the New Testament name, ultimately from Aramaic ta'oma, meaning “twin.” Historical surname writers consistently treated Thomson as one of the standard English and Scots derivatives of Thomas.
History
The name is especially associated with Scotland, where Thomson became and remains a very common surname. In older English records it appears alongside close variants such as Thompson, Tomson, and Thomason, with spelling often depending on local pronunciation and clerkly habit. The surname later spread widely through Britain, Ireland, North America, and other English-speaking regions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Thomson is often treated as the more Scottish-looking spelling, while Thompson is more common overall in modern English use.
From the historical record
“Gaelic Gow, Gowan, and Caird: — In Glasgow every 130th person is a Campbell, every 129th a Wilson, every 128th a Robertson ; 1 in every 125 is a Miller, 1 in 124 a Thomson; 1 in 121 answers to Brown, while Smith easily takes premier place with 1 in every 88. Smith is likewise first, and still more popular, in…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Thomson
- J. J. Thomson (1856–1940)
- Lord Kelvin (1825–1907)
- George Paget Thomson (1892–1975)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.