NameCensus.

UK surname

Thompson

An English patronymic surname meaning "son of Thomas," derived from the medieval personal name of Biblical origin.

In the 1881 census there were 89,587 people recorded with the Thompson surname, ranking it #18 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 128,457, ranked #15, up from #18 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, London parishes and Gateshead. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Northumberland, County Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Thompson is 133,184 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 43.4%.

1881 census count

89,587

Ranked #18

Modern count

128,457

2016, ranked #15

Peak year

2010

133,184 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Thompson had 89,587 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #18 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 128,457 in 2016, ranked #15.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 115,495 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Thompson surname distribution map

The map shows where the Thompson surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Thompson surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Thompson over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 56,493 #19
1861 historical 63,282 #18
1881 historical 89,587 #18
1891 historical 98,370 #17
1901 historical 110,364 #18
1911 historical 115,495 #16
1997 modern 126,985 #15
1998 modern 131,348 #15
1999 modern 132,133 #15
2000 modern 131,378 #15
2001 modern 127,886 #15
2002 modern 130,672 #15
2003 modern 127,152 #15
2004 modern 127,067 #15
2005 modern 125,028 #15
2006 modern 125,235 #15
2007 modern 126,206 #15
2008 modern 126,777 #15
2009 modern 130,192 #15
2010 modern 133,184 #15
2011 modern 130,761 #15
2012 modern 127,506 #15
2013 modern 130,048 #15
2014 modern 130,607 #15
2015 modern 129,127 #15
2016 modern 128,457 #15

Geography

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Where Thompsons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside, London parishes, Gateshead and Liverpool. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Northumberland, County Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Lanchester (Collierley, Kyo, Billingside, Medomsley, Ebchchester, Benfieldside, Heelyfield, Conside Durham
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 Gateshead Durham
5 Liverpool Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Northumberland 003 Northumberland
2 County Durham 059 County Durham
3 Northumberland 006 Northumberland
4 County Durham 052 County Durham
5 Newcastle upon Tyne 026 Newcastle upon Tyne

Forenames

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First names often paired with Thompson

These lists show first names that appear often with the Thompson surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Thompson

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Thompson, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Thompson surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Thompson household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Thompson is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Thompson is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Thompson falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Thompson is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Thompson, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Thompson

The surname Thompson is of English origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is a patronymic name derived from the given name Thomas, which comes from the Aramaic name Ta'oma, meaning "twin." The suffix "-son" was commonly added to create patronymic surnames in medieval England, indicating the bearer's family lineage.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Thompson surname appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1219, where it is spelled as "Tomas filius Thomae" (Thomas, son of Thomas). It is believed that the surname arose independently in various parts of England, particularly in the northern counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Northumberland.

In the 13th century, the surname Thompson is found in various records, including the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire (1273), where it is spelled as "Thomasune." This variation highlights the fluidity of spelling during that period, as surnames were still establishing their standardized forms.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain the surname Thompson. However, it does mention several individuals with the given name Thomas, indicating the potential for the surname's later development.

Notable historical figures with the surname Thompson include:

1. William Thompson (c. 1675-1737), an English-born poet and critic who was a key figure in the Augustan literary circle. 2. Benjamin Thompson (1753-1814), an American-born inventor and physicist, also known as Count Rumford, who made significant contributions to the fields of heat and energy. 3. William Butterworth Thompson (1805-1874), an English-born surveyor and explorer who conducted extensive surveys in British Columbia, Canada. 4. Sir John Sparrow David Thompson (1845-1894), a Canadian lawyer, teacher, and politician who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Canada from 1892 to 1894. 5. Hunter Stockton Thompson (1937-2005), an American journalist and author, known for his pioneering work in gonzo journalism and books like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

The surname Thompson has also been associated with various place names in England, including Thompsons Close in Berkshire, Thompson's Green in Hertfordshire, and Thompson Hill in Dorset. These place names likely derived from individuals with the Thompson surname who lived or held lands in those areas.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Thompson families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Thompson surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Yorkshire leads with 15,828 Thompsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.83x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 15,828 1.83x
Lancashire 13,089 1.26x
Durham 9,203 3.53x
Middlesex 6,628 0.76x
Northumberland 5,556 4.27x
Surrey 3,289 0.77x
Cumberland 2,935 3.90x
Staffordshire 2,685 0.91x
Warwickshire 2,402 1.09x
Lincolnshire 2,095 1.50x
Kent 1,947 0.65x
Derbyshire 1,779 1.30x
Cheshire 1,765 0.91x
Norfolk 1,688 1.25x
Essex 1,281 0.74x
Nottinghamshire 1,148 0.97x
Hampshire 991 0.55x
Leicestershire 990 1.02x
Westmorland 976 5.07x
Northamptonshire 963 1.17x
Lanarkshire 884 0.31x
Suffolk 762 0.71x
Gloucestershire 746 0.43x
Sussex 697 0.47x
Worcestershire 678 0.59x
Cambridgeshire 611 1.10x
Somerset 482 0.34x
Bedfordshire 454 1.00x
Devon 443 0.24x
Shropshire 415 0.55x
Midlothian 383 0.33x
Glamorgan 350 0.23x
Aberdeenshire 346 0.43x
Hertfordshire 332 0.55x
Angus 325 0.40x
Renfrewshire 268 0.40x
Ayrshire 238 0.36x
Dumfriesshire 228 1.18x
Wiltshire 226 0.29x
Buckinghamshire 205 0.39x
Roxburghshire 188 1.19x
Berkshire 182 0.28x
Dorset 169 0.29x
Monmouthshire 165 0.26x
Fife 160 0.31x
Huntingdonshire 160 0.92x
Perthshire 153 0.39x
Shetland 137 1.53x
Oxfordshire 136 0.25x
Berwickshire 132 1.25x
Cornwall 121 0.12x
Kirkcudbrightshire 100 0.79x
Royal Navy 92 0.88x
Wigtownshire 92 0.79x
Morayshire 88 0.65x
Orkney 87 0.90x
Dunbartonshire 85 0.36x
Rutland 77 1.20x
Flintshire 75 0.32x
Herefordshire 72 0.20x
Banffshire 67 0.37x
Inverness-shire 63 0.24x
Pembrokeshire 61 0.22x
Isle of Man 59 0.36x
East Lothian 58 0.50x
Stirlingshire 53 0.16x
Denbighshire 49 0.15x
Argyllshire 48 0.20x
West Lothian 45 0.34x
Selkirkshire 42 0.53x
Buteshire 41 0.77x
Caernarfonshire 40 0.11x
Ross-shire 38 0.16x
Brecknockshire 33 0.19x
Carmarthenshire 32 0.09x
Channel Islands 28 0.11x
Caithness 27 0.23x
Radnorshire 27 0.38x
Anglesey 21 0.14x
Cardiganshire 20 0.09x
Kincardineshire 20 0.19x
Clackmannanshire 18 0.25x
Merionethshire 18 0.11x
Peeblesshire 10 0.24x
Kinross-shire 7 0.32x
Montgomeryshire 2 0.01x
Nairnshire 2 0.07x
Sutherland 2 0.03x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bishopwearmouth in Durham leads with 951 Thompsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.26x.

Place Total Index
Bishopwearmouth 951 4.26x
Leeds 892 1.82x
Gateshead 877 4.50x
Liverpool 784 1.24x
Birmingham 734 1.00x
Islington London 706 0.83x
Lambeth 639 0.84x
Westoe 628 4.25x
Toxteth Park 620 1.76x
Blackburn 585 2.12x
Aston 550 0.91x
Camberwell 543 0.97x
Manchester 540 1.16x
St Pancras London 503 0.71x
Holy Trinity 477 2.29x
Elswick 473 4.55x
Sheffield 465 1.68x
Everton 458 1.38x
Preston 447 1.61x
West Derby 436 1.44x
Hackney London 399 0.81x
Salford 393 1.29x
Barrow In Furness 373 2.64x
West Ham 353 0.93x
Stockton On Tees 347 2.76x
Shoreditch London 341 0.90x
Kensington London 336 0.69x
Hunslet 333 2.46x
Darlington 318 3.16x
St Marylebone London 315 0.67x
Ecclesall Bierlow 305 1.73x
Nottingham St Mary 293 0.96x
Mile End Old Town 291 2.11x
Westgate 289 3.58x
Hulme 283 1.31x
Sculcoates 282 2.05x
Stranton 277 3.16x
Bradford 273 1.30x
Kirkdale 269 1.54x
Middlesbrough 269 2.38x
Bethnal Green London 268 0.70x
Brightside Bierlow 266 1.56x
Portsea 262 0.75x
Monkwearmouth Shore 259 5.10x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 257 2.28x
Longbenton 257 4.66x
Oldham 255 0.76x
Sunderland 250 5.44x
Paddington London 249 0.77x
Newington 246 0.76x
Tynemouth 244 3.50x
Byker 241 3.74x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 241 3.10x
Bromley London 237 1.23x
West Bromwich 234 1.38x
Scarborough 232 2.94x
Newcastle On Tyne St 228 3.38x
Deptford St Paul 227 0.99x
Kendal 227 6.45x
Bedlington 225 5.17x
Govan 223 0.32x
Great Yarmouth 223 2.00x
Bishop Auckland 215 6.16x
Kingswinford 215 2.00x
Chorlton On Medlock 213 1.29x
Glasgow 209 0.42x
Barony 208 0.29x
Clerkenwell London 205 0.99x
Halifax 197 1.55x
Alnwick 195 8.71x
Chelsea London 192 0.73x
Birkenhead 185 1.20x
St George Hanover 182 1.59x
Ashton Under Lyne 181 0.80x
Battersea 180 0.56x
Dundee 179 0.59x
Nether Hallam 179 1.53x
Wallsend 176 4.26x
Heworth 175 3.41x
Dalton In Furness 171 4.27x
Horton In Bradford 170 1.26x
Bermondsey 169 0.65x
Penrith 167 6.00x
Great Grimsby 163 1.84x
Poplar London 162 0.98x
Lancaster 161 2.61x
Stoke Upon Trent 161 0.51x
Habergham Eaves 160 1.69x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Thompson surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 6,326
Elizabeth 3,562
Sarah 2,993
Jane 2,230
Ann 1,837
Margaret 1,549
Annie 1,236
Alice 1,167
Ellen 1,133
Hannah 1,092
Emma 1,053
Eliza 972
Emily 733
Martha 708
Isabella 704
Ada 461
Harriet 459
Catherine 458
Maria 440
Louisa 435
Edith 418
Charlotte 395
Agnes 389
Florence 365
Frances 363
Fanny 361
Caroline 351
Clara 345
Kate 312
Anne 303
Eleanor 269
Lucy 243
Susan 234
Esther 208
Elizth. 198
Harriett 192
Rebecca 185
Rose 179
Amelia 175
Jessie 169
Susannah 157
Sophia 152
Gertrude 141
Dorothy 139
Minnie 134
Ethel 133
Julia 132
Lydia 130
Ruth 129
Amy 127

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Thompson surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 5,907
William 5,344
George 3,031
James 2,908
Thomas 2,770
Joseph 1,744
Robert 1,636
Henry 1,576
Charles 1,346
Edward 797
Richard 728
Arthur 718
Samuel 696
Alfred 659
Frederick 496
Walter 495
Harry 397
Albert 388
David 359
Wm. 332
Frank 299
Herbert 271
Benjamin 237
Francis 234
Ernest 229
Isaac 205
Edwin 194
Alexander 182
Fred 182
Thos. 179
Matthew 170
Andrew 168
Peter 167
Geo. 144
Ralph 144
Daniel 133
Christopher 115
Stephen 107
Robt. 104
Tom 103
Mark 93
Fredk. 87
Fredrick 85
Michael 85
Chas. 84
Edmund 81
Percy 80
Jas. 71
Jno. 70
Jonathan 69

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Thompson households.

FAQ

Thompson surname: questions and answers

How common was the Thompson surname in 1881?

In 1881, 89,587 people were recorded with the Thompson surname. That placed it at #18 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Thompson surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 128,457 in 2016. That gives Thompson a modern rank of #15.

What does the Thompson surname mean?

An English patronymic surname meaning "son of Thomas," derived from the medieval personal name of Biblical origin.

What does the Thompson map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Thompson bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.