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Thompson

#2,359 in 2025Boys' name

Variant of Thomson

Thompson has been given to 2,748 babies in the U.S. since 1882. In 2025 it ranked #2,359 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2018, with 76 recorded.

Babies named Thompson, 2025

1 in 56,200

Thompson over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
02040608018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Thompson: meaning, origin, and history

Variant of Thomson

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Thompson means

Thompson is a variant of Thomson.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

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".

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Thompson (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Thompson is used in English.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Thomson and MacTamhais.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Thompson is pronounced /ˈtɑmp.sən/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 2,725 boys were recorded with the name Thompson between 1882 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 76 in 2018; its best national rank was #742 in 1887.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #2,541 in 2020 to #2,359 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,351 in 2015 to #2,359 in 2025.

In the United States, 23 girls were recorded with the name Thompson between 2017 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 8 in 2022; its best national rank was #12,144 in 2022.

How common is Thompson?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 56,200
59 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 28,900
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#2,359
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
38,949 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Thompson sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 38,949 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Thompson. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Thompsons were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Thompson was born before 1987 — so the typical Thompson is around 38 today.

Median birth year
1987
About 38 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
17.2% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
37.8%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
1,911
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 17.2% of all recorded uses (469).

Is Thompson rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+591
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+182
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
−8
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
1.05×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
77.6%
Peak was 2018 (76)
Years since peak
7
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
22.4% average annual change
Best rank ever
#742
1887

Where Thompson is used

Across 2016–2025, Thompson was most concentrated in South Carolina — about 1 in 20,000 boys, against 1 in 57,189 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in 100,000).

15 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1South Carolina1 in 20,000
  2. 2Alabama1 in 50,000
  3. 3Georgia1 in 50,000
  4. 4North Carolina1 in 50,000
  5. 5Ohio1 in 50,000
  6. 6Tennessee1 in 50,000
  7. 7Texas1 in 50,000
  8. 8California1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Thompson around the world

Where Thompson ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2000–2017
    #4,812
    in 2017
  • Northern Ireland
    2023–2023
    #395
    in 2023
  • South Australia
    1996–2011
    #784
    in 2011

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Thompson

People whose public names include Thompson, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Thompson by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,359
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 182
Best rank ever
#742
1887
Peak year
2018
76 that year
First recorded
1882
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,725
Count in 2025
59

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#17,047
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
New entry
Best rank ever
#12,144
2022
Peak year
2022
8 that year
First recorded
2017
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
23
Count in 2025
5

Names similar to Thompson

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

ThomsonThorntonRobinsonMorrisonThorinJamiesonColesonTennysonEricksonEllisonDavidsonBraysonIversonPiersonThorsonTreysonAllisonSampsonGarrisonPetersonHendersonThorstenStevensonPearson

Names with a curve like Thompson

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Thompson, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

LarkinTheophilusDixonMaconCollinsClivePascalLawtonBerkleyNileRansomArmin

Sibling names for Thompson

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Thompson

Top names of 2018, Thompson's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 1887Boys' names starting with T