Meaning and Origin of the Surname THOMPSON

Thompson is a patronymic surname meaning "son of the man known as Thom, Thomp, Thompkin, or another diminutive form of Thomas (twin)." Without the "p", the Thomson surname is often of Scottish origin.

Surname Origin: English and Scottish

Alternate Surname Spellings: THOMSON, THOMASON, THOMASSON, THOMASSIN, THOMESON, TOMPSON, THOMPSEN, TOMASON, THOMS, THOMASSET, TOMPSETT, THOMSETT, TOMSETT, THOMERSON, THOMLINSON, THOMLIN

Famous People With the Surname THOMPSON

• Fred Thompson - U.S. Senator and television actor
• Alexander "Greek" Thomson - Scottish architect (1817-1875)
• Sir Joseph John (J. J.) Thomson - English physicist who discovered the electron

Genealogy Resources for the Surname THOMPSON

100 Most Common U.S. Surnames & Their Meanings
Smith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census?

Thompson DNA Project
DNA testing is making connections between families with Thompson surname variants used in different areas of the world including Thomson, Thomsen, Thomason, Thomazin, Taweson, MacThomas, MacTavish, MacCavish, Macomish, Macomb, McComas, McComb, MacCombie, and reasonable spelling variations.

Thompson Family Genealogy Forum
Search this popular genealogy forum for the Thompson surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Thompson query. There are also separate forums for the THOMSON surname and other Thompson variations.

FamilySearch - THOMPSON Genealogy
Find records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Thompson surname and its variations.

Sources

• Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.
  
• Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005.
  
• Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004.
  
• Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.
  
• Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.
  
• Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.