2000
#1,341
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,174
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.96
Uncommon Last name
Thomson
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Thomas, meaning "son of Thomas."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 27,875 Americans carry the last name Thomson. That puts it at #1,427 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,296 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thomson surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Thomson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
28K
1 in 12,296
Census rank
#1,427
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
24K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 24,308 bearers of the surname Thomson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1427th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thomson, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thomson
The surname THOMSON is of Scottish origin, derived from the personal name Thomas. The name Thomas itself is derived from the Aramaic name "Toma" meaning "twin." The earliest recorded instances of the surname date back to the 12th century in Scotland.
The THOMSON surname is believed to have originated in the regions of Aberdeenshire, Angus, and Perthshire in Scotland. It was initially spelled as "Thomasson" or "Thomeson" before the modern spelling of "THOMSON" became more widely adopted.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the THOMSON surname can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which documented individuals who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name "William Thomessone" appears in these rolls, indicating the presence of the surname in Scotland during that time period.
The THOMSON surname is also mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This suggests that the name may have had English origins as well, although the Scottish roots are more commonly accepted.
Notable figures throughout history with the surname THOMSON include:
1. James Thomson (1700-1748), a Scottish poet and playwright best known for his work "The Seasons."
2. William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824-1907), a renowned British physicist and mathematician who made significant contributions to thermodynamics and the understanding of heat transfer.
3. Virgil Thomson (1896-1989), an American composer and music critic who influenced the development of modern classical music in the United States.
4. J.J. Thomson (1856-1940), an English physicist who discovered the electron and made groundbreaking contributions to the field of atomic physics.
5. Burt Thomson (1924-2014), a Canadian politician who served as the 28th Premier of British Columbia from 1972 to 1975.
The THOMSON surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Thomaston in Maine, USA, and Thomaskirk in Scotland, which may have influenced the development and spread of the name over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thomson
Among Census respondents with the surname Thomson, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Thomson bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Thomson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.6% · 21,043
- Black or African American4.0% · 965
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 903
- Two or more races3.5% · 851
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 441
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 105
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thomson
Thomson appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,440
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,750
+576 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 8.39
Rank movement Down 99 places
2020
#1,427
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,308
-442 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 8.13
Rank movement Up 13 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,341 | 24,174 | 8.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,440 | 24,750 | 8.39 | +576 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 99 places |
| 2020 | #1,427 | 24,308 | 8.13 | -442 bearers (-1.8%) | Up 13 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Thomson surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,440 | #1,427 | 0.9% |
| Count | 24,750 | 24,308 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 8.39 | 8.13 | -3.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thomson bearers went from 24,750 to 24,308 (-1.8% change). The surname moved up 13 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,440 to #1,427.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Thomson
FAQ
Thomson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thomson?
Name Census estimates that about 27,875 living Americans carry the surname Thomson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,296 residents.
How common is Thomson?
Thomson ranks #1,427 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 24,308 people with the surname Thomson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (27,875), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Thomson.
Has Thomson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thomson went from 24,750 recorded bearers to 24,308. That is a decrease of 442 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,440 to #1,427.
What does the Census say about the background of Thomson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thomson, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Thomson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.6% (21,043 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thomson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.6%), Black (4.0%), Hispanic (3.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Thomson (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Thomson mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Thomas, meaning "son of Thomas." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Thomson (8.13 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Thomson?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.