Thompson

English

Alternative forms

• Tompson, Tomson, Thomson, Thomason, Thomasson

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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɒmp.sən/, /ˈtɒm.sən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑmp.sən/, /ˈtɑm.sən/

Proper noun

Thompson (countable and uncountable, plural Thompsons)

1. (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], archived from the original on 18 February 2026:

     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.

   1. A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.
2. A placename:
   1. A village in Bulgaria.
   2. A village and civil parish in Breckland district, Norfolk, England (OS grid ref TL9296).
   3. A city in Northern Manitoba, Canada.
   4. A rural municipality in Pembina Valley Region, Manitoba; in full, the Rural Municipality of Thompson.
   5. A number of places in the United States:
      1. An unincorporated community in Bullock County, Alabama.
      2. An unincorporated community in Napa County, California.
      3. A town in Windham County, Connecticut.
      4. A minor city in Winnebago County, Iowa.
      5. An unincorporated community in Audrain County, Missouri.
      6. An unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Nebraska.
      7. A town in Sullivan County, New York.
      8. A city in Grand Forks County, North Dakota.
      9. A township and unincorporated community therein, in Geauga County, Ohio.
      10. A borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.
      11. An unincorporated community in Erin, Washington County, Wisconsin.
      12. A number of other townships in the United States, listed under Thompson Township.
3. An Interior Salish language spoken in British Columbia and formerly in Washington.

   Synonyms: Nlaka'pamuctsin, Nlaka'pamux, Nɬeʔkepmxcín, nɬeʔkepmxcín

Derived terms

• Big Thompson River
• Feit-Thompson theorem
• Thompson Falls
• Thompsonian
• Thompson-Nicola
• Thompson River Indian
• Thompsons
• Thompson submachine gun
• Thompsonville

Related terms

Scottish surname

• MacTavish
• McTavish

Translations

equivalent surname in other languages — see Thomason

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Thompson is the 23^rd 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)

1. A member of a Salish people of British Columbia.
2. (firearms) Ellipsis of Thompson submachine gun (“Tommy gun”).