Thompson

Meaning: Son of Thomas
Origin: English surname

Boy's name · #2359 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Popularity over time

Thompson is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1887, when it ranked #742. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 2,700 boys since 1882, ranked #2359 today.

Across the states

See where Thompson is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 1 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Thompson ranks in other countries and regions.

#395 in N. Ireland (2023) · #8,429 in Ecuador (2022) · #4,812 in England & Wales (2017).

Famous Thompsons

Thompson Oliha — Nigerian footballer (1968–2013)
Thompson Usiyan — Nigerian footballer (1956–2021)
Thompson Capper — British First World War general (1863–1915)
Thompson Mann — American swimmer (1942–2019)
Thompson Cowan — English rugby union player (born 2002)

As a surname

It is also an American family name — about 665,000 people carried it as a surname in the 2010 census.

Emma Thompson — English actress and screenwriter (born 1959)
Hunter S. Thompson — American journalist and author (1937–2005)
Ken Thompson — American computer scientist known for Unix (born 1943)

In stories & tradition

Thompson — Gravity Falls (TV series)

What Thompsons become

Among 56 notable people named Thompson:

Lawyers & judges appear 3.14× more often than among typical names — e.g. Thompson Weeks, American lawyer and politician (1832–1901).

Similar names: Sloan · Tom · Bowman · Woodson · Ellison · Gibson

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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