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

Thompsen, 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 Thompsen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Thompsen in America

Thompsen is the 36048th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Thompsen surname appeared 622 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Thompsen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Thompsen 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 Thompsen

The surname Thompsen is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is a patronymic surname, derived from the personal name Thomas, which itself is derived from the Aramaic name Toma, meaning "twin." The -sen suffix is a common variation of the more common patronymic suffix -son, indicating "son of."

Early records show that the Thompsen name was concentrated in the northern counties of England, particularly Yorkshire and Lancashire. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1301, which mention a William Thompsen.

The Thompsen name can also be traced to Scotland, where it is believed to have been introduced by English settlers. In the 16th century, records show the name appearing in various parts of Scotland, including the Borders region and the Lothians.

During the Middle Ages, the Thompsen name was often spelled with various variations, such as Thompsone, Thompeson, and Thompsoune. These variations reflect the inconsistencies in spelling and record-keeping during that time period.

Notable historical figures with the Thompsen surname include:

1. John Thompsen (c. 1490 - 1558), an English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake during the Marian Persecutions.
2. Robert Thompsen (1616 - 1675), a Scottish minister and one of the leaders of the Covenanters during the religious conflicts of the 17th century.
3. William Thompsen (1712 - 1766), an English poet and playwright, best known for his work "Tancred and Sigismunda."
4. James Thompsen (1834 - 1882), a Scottish explorer and naturalist who traveled extensively in East Africa and documented many new species of plants and animals.
5. Beatrice Thompsen (1890 - 1975), an English suffragette and activist who campaigned for women's rights and social reform in the early 20th century.

While the Thompsen name has its roots in England and Scotland, it has since spread to other parts of the world through emigration and migration. However, this report focuses solely on the historical origins and early records of the surname Thompsen, without delving into more recent census data or modern-day geographical distributions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Thompsen

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

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 Thompsen 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 Thompsen 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 Thompsen was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!