Thompson
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Variant of Thomson, from Tom + -son, originally meaning "son of Thomas". In some instances of people so named, a calque of Scottish Gaelic MacTamhais (“McTavish”); also an anglicisation of the Gaelic name MacTamhais, meaning "son of Thomas".
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Thompson (countable and uncountable, plural Thompsons)
- (countable) A British surname transferred from the given name.
- 2024 December 10, Jesse Zanger, Renee Anderson, “Luigi Mangione, suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's killing, charged with murder in NYC”, in CBS News[1]:
- Police believe Mangione had been traveling around Pennsylvania in the days after Thompson was killed, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to Altoona, where he was recognized earlier Monday at a McDonald's restaurant.
- A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.
- A placename:
- A village in Bulgaria.
- A village and civil parish in Breckland district, Norfolk, England (OS grid ref TL9296).
- A city in Northern Manitoba, Canada.
- A rural municipality in Pembina Valley Region, Manitoba; in full, the Rural Municipality of Thompson.
- A number of places in the United States:
- An unincorporated community in Bullock County, Alabama.
- An unincorporated community in Napa County, California.
- A town in Windham County, Connecticut.
- A minor city in Winnebago County, Iowa.
- An unincorporated community in Audrain County, Missouri.
- An unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Nebraska.
- A town in Sullivan County, New York.
- A city in Grand Forks County, North Dakota.
- A township and unincorporated community therein, in Geauga County, Ohio.
- A borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.
- An unincorporated community in Erin, Washington County, Wisconsin.
- A number of other townships in the United States, listed under Thompson Township.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
equivalent surname in other languages — see Thomason
Statistics
- According to the 2010 United States Census, Thompson is the 23rd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 664,644 individuals. Thompson is most common among White (69.8%) and Black/African American (23.6%) individuals.
Noun
Thompson (plural Thompsons)
- A member of a Salish people of British Columbia.
- (firearms) Ellipsis of Thompson submachine gun (“Tommy gun”).