Thomson (surname)

{{Infobox surname

| name = Thomson

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| pronunciation =

| meaning ="son of Thom", "son of Thomas", "little Thomas" (French)

| region = Northwestern Europe

| origin =

| variant =Thompson, Thomason, Tompson, MacTavish, McTavish, MacTamhais {{cite web|url=https://clanmactavish.org/scottish-thompson-name-mactavish|title=Scottish Thompson Name is MacTavish|website=Clanmactavish.org|access-date=10 February 2025}}

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Thomson is a patronymic surname meaning "son of Thom, Thomp, Thompkin, or other diminutive of Thomas", itself derived from the Aramaic תום or Tôm, meaning "twin". It is a surname of English, Irish, and Scottish Origin.{{cite web|url=https://clanmactavish.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/The-Clan-MacTavish-Surname-Origin-and-Variant-Spellings.pdf|title= Clan MacTavish Surname Origin and Variant Spellings|publisher=Clan MacTavish|access-date=4 March 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://clanmactavish.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Clan_MacTavish_Surnames-thompson-sons-of-thomas-stevens-and-foxes-or-todds.pdf|title=The Transition of the MacGilletSamhais, MacStibhan, and Tahd Surnames being Associated Family Names of the Clan MacTavish OR How and Why Gaelic Surnames changed to Latin or Anglo-English| publisher=Clan MacTavish|access-date=4 March 2025}}

The surname is documented in Cheshire records before and after the 1066 Norman Conquest. Variations include Thomason, Thomasson, Thomerson, Thomoson, and others. The French surname Thomson is first documented in Burgundy and is the shortened form for Thom[as]son, Thom[es]son. Variations include Thomassin, Thomason, Thomsson, Thomesson, Thomeson, and others. Thomson is uncommon as a given name.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, Oxford Dictionary of First Names, Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, {{ISBN|978-0-19-861060-1}}, p.260.{{cite web |url=http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=Thomson |title=Surname: Thomson |publisher=surnamedb.com |accessdate=2008-01-09}}{{cite web |url=http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/t/bl_name-THOMPSON.htm |title=THOMPSON – Name Meaning & Origin |publisher=genealogy.about.com |accessdate=2008-01-09 |archive-date=2007-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117090718/http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/t/bl_name-THOMPSON.htm |url-status=dead }}

Thomson is a surname.Notable people with the name include:

Arts and letters

Alex Thomson (cinematographer) (1929–2007), English cinematographer
Alex Thomson (journalist) (born 1960), English journalist
Alexander Thomson (1817–1875), Scottish architect
Beatrix Thomson (1900–1986), British actress
Beverly Thomson (born 1966), Canadian journalist
Charles Thomson (artist) (born 1953), British artist, painter and poet
Cyndi Thomson (born 1976), American country music singer
Diana Thomson (born 1939), English sculptor
Edward William Thomson (writer) (1849–1924), Canadian journalist and writer
Frederick Clifton Thomson (1890–1928), American silent film cowboy actor
George Thomson (musician) (1757–1821), Scottish music collector
Hugh Thomson (1860–1920), Irish illustrator
Hugh Thomson (writer), English travel writer
Kenneth Thomson (actor) (1899–1967), American character actor
Lily James (born Lily Thomson in 1989), English actress
Margaret Thomson (1910–2005), Australian-New Zealand filmmaker
R. H. Thomson (born 1947), Canadian television, film, and stage actor
Riley Thomson (1912–1960), American animator and comics artist
Robert James Thomson, Australian journalist
Roy Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet (1894–1976), Canadian newspaper and media entrepreneur
Rosemary Thomson, Canadian conductor
Rupert Thomson (b 1955), English author
Sebastian Thomson, drummer and musician
Tom Thomson (1877–1917), Canadian artist
Valentine Thomson (1881–1944) French writer, philanthropist and women's rights activist
Virgil Thomson (1896–1989), American composer

Politics, law, and government

Charles Thomson (1729–1824), secretary of the Continental Congress
Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham (1799–1841), first Governor of the united Province of Canada
Craig Thomson (politician) (born 1964), Australian politician
Edwin Keith Thomson (1919–1960), member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Edward William Thomson (1794–1865), member of the 13th Parliament of Upper Canada
Gaston Thomson (1848–1932), French politician
Kelvin Thomson (born 1955), Australian politician
Lodewijk Thomson (1869–1914), Dutch soldier and politician
Meldrim Thomson Jr. (1912–2001), New Hampshire governor
Michelle Thomson (born 1965), Scottish National Party politician and member of Parliament
Roy Hendry Thomson (1932–2009), businessman, public servant and political activist
Susan Thomson (born 1962) Canadian human rights lawyer and professor of peace and conflict studies
Thyra Thomson (1916–2013), Secretary of State of Wyoming
Vernon Wallace Thomson (1905–1988), American politician
Wayne Thomson, Canadian politician

Sciences and medicine

Arthur Thomson (naturalist) (1861–1933), Scottish naturalist
Arthur Landsborough Thomson (1890–1977), Scottish ornithologist
Carl Gustaf Thomson (1824–1899), Swedish entomologist.
Charles Wyville Thomson (1830–1882), professor of zoology and chief scientist on the Challenger expedition
Christine Thomson, professor emerita of human nutrition
Donald Thomson (1901–1970), Australian anthropologist and ornithologist
Elihu Thomson (1853–1937), English engineer, founder of what became the French firm Thomson SA
G. Thomson (1760–1806), English geologist who worked in Italy and discovered the Widmanstätten figures
George Paget Thomson (1892–1975), English physicist who worked on the wave nature of the electron (son of J. J. Thomson)
J. J. Thomson (Sir Joseph John Thomson, 1856–1940), English physicist who discovered the electron
Janet Thomson (born 1942), British geologist
Joseph Thomson (explorer) (1858–1895), a Scottish geologist
Reginald H. Thomson (1856–1949), Seattle civil engineer
Robert Thomson (inventor) (1822–1873), Scottish inventor
Thomas Thomson jr. (1817–1878), Scottish botanist
Thomas Thomson sr. (1773–1852), Scottish chemist
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), British physicist

Sports

Akiko Thomson (born 1974), Filipina television host, journalist and retired swimmer
Alexander Aird Thomson (1917–1991), Scottish chess master
Billy Thomson (footballer, born 1958), Scottish football goalkeeper
Billy Thomson (footballer, fl. 1891–1900), Scottish football winger
Bob Thomson, English footballer
Bobby Thomson (1923–2010), Scottish-born American baseball player
Brandon Thomson, South African rugby union player
Brent Thomson (born 1958), New Zealand jockey
Cammy Thomson (1948–1996), Scottish footballer
Craig Thomson, Scottish footballer
Craig Thomson, Scottish football referee
Darran Thomson, Scottish footballer
Des Thomson (born 1942), New Zealand cyclist
Edmund Thomson (1874–1914), English cricketer
Fergus Thomson, a Scottish rugby player
Florence Frankland Thomson (1885–1939), Scottish chess player
Gary Thomson, Irish cyclist
Ian Thomson (cricketer) (1929–2021), English cricketer
J. M. Archer Thomson (1863–1913), British rock-climber and mountaineer
Jason Thomson, Scottish footballer
Jeff Thomson (born 1950), Australian cricketer
Kathryn Thomson (born 1996), British short track skater
Keith Thomson (sportsman), New Zealand cricketer
Ken Thomson (footballer), Scottish footballer
Kenny Thomson (born 1951), Scottish footballer
Kevin Thomson, Scottish footballer
Lawrie Thomson, Scottish footballer
Matthew Thomson (sport shooter), small-bore rifle champion
Peter Thomson, Australian professional golfer
Rob Thomson, Canadian baseball manager
Robert Thomson (1875–1954), Scottish professional golfer
Shane Alexander Thomson (born 27th January 1969), A New Zealand cricketer

Other

Edward Thomson, bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church
Iain Donald Thomson, American philosopher
Judith Jarvis Thomson (1929–2020), American moral philosopher
Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet (1923–2006)
Maria Thomson (1809–1875), New Zealand businesswoman
Mowbray Thomson (1832–1917), British Army officer and author
Douglas Thomson White aka Doogie White (born 1960), Scottish rock singer
John Turnbull Thomson, British engineer who lived in Singapore and New Zealand
Mick Thomson, American musician, known as the guitar in heavy metal band Slipknot