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Thomson

#13,690 in 2025Boys' name

Tom with the suffix -son

Thomson has been given to 245 babies in the U.S. since 1943. In 2025 it ranked #13,690 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2016, with 15 recorded.

Babies named Thomson, 2025

1 in 663,000

Thomson over time, 1880–2025

Boys
05101518801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Thomson: meaning, origin, and history

Tom with the suffix -son

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Thomson means

Thomson is formed from Tom with the suffix -son.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Tom + -son, originally meaning "son of Thomas". In some instances of people so named, a calque of Scottish Gaelic MacTamhais (“MacTavish”). Also an anglicisation of the Gaelic name MacTamhais, meaning "son of Thomas". Many with the name MacTavish changed their name to Thomson and Thompson after Culloden. Being derived from Thomas ultimately gives this surname an Aramaic derivation - teoma 'twin'.

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

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Thomson is used in English.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Tom and MacTamhais.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Thomson is pronounced /ˈtɑm.sən/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 245 boys were recorded with the name Thomson between 1943 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 15 in 2016; its best national rank was #3,513 in 1943.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #13,850 in 2020 to #13,690 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #10,512 in 2015 to #13,690 in 2025.

How common is Thomson?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 663,000
5 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 342,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#13,690
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
459,581 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Thomson 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 459,581 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Thomson. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Thomsons were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Thomson was born before 2003 — so the typical Thomson is around 22 today.

Median birth year
2003
About 22 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
27.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
54.3%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
229
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 27.8% of all recorded uses (68).

Is Thomson 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
—
Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago
+160
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
−3,178
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.71×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
33.3%
Peak was 2016 (15)
Years since peak
9
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
40.4% average annual change
Best rank ever
#3,513
1943

Spellings of Thomson

Thomson is not the most common spelling — Thompson is, with 91.8% against Thomson's 8.2%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Thomson around the world

Where Thomson 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
    2005–2020
    #3,334
    in 2020
  • Canada
    1991–2019
    #2,943
    in 2019
  • South Australia
    2000–2006
    #657
    in 2006

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

Thomson by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#13,690
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 160
Best rank ever
#3,513
1943
Peak year
2016
15 that year
First recorded
1943
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
245
Count in 2025
5

Names similar to Thomson

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

ThorsonThompsonThorstenThorenThomasonBreysonJaxxsonEdinsonClaysonBrensonThorsenBraesonJuddsonBraxsonThorneEdersonBraisonMacksonNicksonEdilsonDavisonHucksonEriksonWillson

Sibling names for Thomson

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 Thomson

Top names of 2016, Thomson's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 1943Boys' names starting with T