Find out how popular the last name Thomason is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Thomason.

Thomason, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Thomason surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Thomason in America

Thomason is the 1751st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Thomason surname appeared 20,478 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Thomason.

We can also compare 2010 data for Thomason to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Thomason

The surname Thomason originated in England and is derived from the medieval given name Thomas, which itself comes from the Aramaic name Toma meaning "twin". The suffix "-son" was commonly used to indicate "son of", so Thomason originally referred to the son of someone named Thomas.

The name first appeared in historical records during the late 12th century, with early spellings including Thomasson, Thomessone, and Thomsoun. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Willelmus Thomasson, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1195.

In the 13th century, the Thomason surname is found in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 mention a John Thomasson in Oxfordshire, while the Subsidy Rolls of 1327 record a William Thomasson in Derbyshire.

The Thomason name is not found in the Domesday Book of 1086, as it emerged later in the Middle Ages. However, it is likely that some early bearers of the name were of Norman ancestry, as the given name Thomas was popular among the Norman nobility after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

Notable individuals with the Thomason surname throughout history include:

1. James Thomason (1804-1853), an English civil servant who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces in British India.
2. John Thomason (1600-1672), an English Puritan minister and author who published several religious works.
3. Sir Edward Thomason (1769-1849), a British naval officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of the Cape Colony from 1828 to 1834.
4. George Thomason (1592-1666), an English bookseller and collector who amassed one of the most extensive collections of printed materials from the English Civil War period.
5. Marjorie Thomason (1904-1966), an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Thomason surname is also associated with various place names in England, such as Thomason's Cottage in Derbyshire and Thomason's Bridge in Yorkshire, reflecting the geographical spread of the name throughout the country over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Thomason

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Thomason.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Thomason was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Thomason has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Thomason was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Thomason, please contact us.

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