The Thompson surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 664,644 people carried this name — #23 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 444 people counted. That is up 3% from 644,368 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Thompson surname
A British surname transferred from the given name.
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".
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Thompson» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 317 births for the Thompson name in 1890.
They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 14,100 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 13 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 1,211 people named Thompson live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
304 people named Thompson live in Switzerland.
They live in 14 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 251 people named Thompson.
Most of them — 162 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 22 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 136 people named Thompson live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Limburg.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
128 people named Thompson have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 349 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 13 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
948 people named Thompson are counted in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Thompson in American newspapers,
1882–1935.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,737,693 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Thompson,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Benjamin Thompson 1753–1814 · writer -
George W. Thompson 1806–1888 · judge -
Richard W. Thompson 1809–1900 · lawyer -
David P. Thompson 1834–1901 · mayor -
Lydia Thompson 1838–1908 · actor
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 91 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Thompson.
- Thomann 1,034 · U.S. census
- Thomas 756,142 · U.S. census
- Thomasson 4,844 · U.S. census
- Thome 3,163 · U.S. census
- Thomen 264 · U.S. census
- Thommes 255 · U.S. census
- Thomsen 7,654 · U.S. census
- Thomson 24,750 · U.S. census
- Thon 1,066 · U.S. census
- Thong 1,378 · U.S. census
- Thony 173 · U.S. census
- Thor 2,823 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Thompson is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.