Thompson

T1H4O1M3P3S1O1N1
UK/ˈtɒmp.sən/UK/ˈtɒm.sən/US/ˈtɑmp.sən/US/ˈtɑm.sən/

proper noun

A British surname transferred from the given name.

Similar
Nlaka'pamuctsinNlaka'pamuxNɬeʔkepmxcín
OriginScottish Gaelic MacTamhais →
CommonScrabble 15
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Meanings

proper nounThompson (countable and uncountable, plural Thompsons)

plural Thompsons · alternative Tompson · alternative Tomson · alternative Thomson · alternative Thomason · alternative Thomasson

  1. countableA British surname transferred from the given name.

    Police believe Mangione had been traveling around Pennsylvania in the days after Thompson was killed, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to Altoona, where he was recognized earlier Monday at a McDonald's restaurant.

    2024 December 10, Jesse Zanger, Renee Anderson, “Luigi Mangione, suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's killing, charged with murder in NYC”, in CBS News
    1. countableuncountableA Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.
  2. A placename:
    1. countableuncountableA village in Bulgaria.
    2. countableuncountableA village and civil parish in Breckland district, Norfolk, England (OS grid ref TL9296).
    3. countableuncountableA city in Northern Manitoba, Canada.
    4. countableuncountableA rural municipality in Pembina Valley Region, Manitoba; in full, the Rural Municipality of Thompson.
    5. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Bullock County, Alabama.
    6. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Napa County, California.
    7. countableuncountableA town in Windham County, Connecticut.
    8. countableuncountableA minor city in Winnebago County, Iowa.
    9. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Audrain County, Missouri.
    10. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Nebraska.
    11. countableuncountableA town in Sullivan County, New York.
    12. countableuncountableA city in Grand Forks County, North Dakota.
    13. countableuncountableA township and unincorporated community therein, in Geauga County, Ohio.
    14. countableuncountableA borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.
    15. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Erin, Washington County, Wisconsin.
    16. countableuncountableA number of other townships in the United States, listed under Thompson Township.
  3. countableuncountableAn Interior Salish language spoken in British Columbia and formerly in Washington.

    Synonyms: Nlaka'pamuctsin, Nlaka'pamux, Nɬeʔkepmxcín, nɬeʔkepmxcín

nounThompson (plural Thompsons)

plural Thompsons · alternative Tompson · alternative Tomson · alternative Thomson · alternative Thomason · alternative Thomasson

  1. A member of a Salish people of British Columbia.
  2. abbreviationellipsisengineeringEllipsis of Thompson submachine gun (“Tommy gun”).

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounAn Interior Salish language spoken in British Columbia and formerly in Washington.

Similar
Nlaka'pamuctsinNlaka'pamuxNɬeʔkepmxcínnɬeʔkepmxcín
Also see
nlaka'pamuctsinnłeʔkepmxnłeʔkepmxcínnɬeʔkepmxcín

Origin

  1. Scottish GaelicMacTamhais“McTavish”
  2. EnglishThompson

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".

More words from Scottish Gaelic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Thompson. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Thompson

MLA

“Thompson.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Thompson. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Thompson,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Thompson.

Source: Thompson on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.