Contents [hide]

Thom History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Thom History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

The ancestral home of the Thom family is Bavaria. Thom is a local name for a person who lived in Bavaria.

Early Origins of the Thom family

The surname Thom was first found in Bavaria, where this surname surfaced in mediaeval times as one of the notable families of the region. From the 13th century onwards the name was associated with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation.

Early History of the Thom family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Thom research. Another 134 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1635, 1644, 1655, 1663, 1669, 1670, 1704, 1709, 1721, 1728, 1746, 1775 and 1776 are included under the topic Early Thom History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thom Spelling Variations

Many cultural groups lived in the German states in medieval times. Each had its own dialect and traditions, and unique variations of popular names. Low German, which is similar to contemporary Dutch, was spoken in Westphalia. German names are characterized by additions such as regional suffixes and phrases that tell something about the origin or background of its original bearer. Further contributing to the variation in German names was the fact that there were no spelling rules in medieval times: scribes recorded names according to their sound. The recorded spelling variations of Thom include Thoma, Thoman, Thom, Thoms, Toma, Thomas, Tomas, Thomasius, Thoeman, Thome, Thomen, Thomme, Thomm, Demel, Dehmel and many more.

Early Notables of the Thom family

Prominent among members of the name Thom in this period include

Frederic Count de Thoms (1669-1746), a German art collector
Peter Lorenz Thomas von Langenhardt (mid 17th century), Secretary of the Johannite Order of knights at Sonnenburg
Christian Thomas (1655-1728, known as Thomasius), a philosopher and law professor at Halle
Charles Thomas de Lorraine (1670-1704), Prince de Vaudémont, a field marshal in the Austrian army
Antoine Thomas (1644-1709), a Belgian Jesuit priest, missionary and astronomer in China

Thom Ranking

In the United States, the name Thom is the 5,566^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1

Thom migration to the United States +

Between the mid-17th and mid-20th centuries, German settlers arrived in North America by the thousands. Persecution based on religion and poverty were great motivators in this large-scale migration. So too was the opportunity for tenant farmers to own their own land. Ample land and opportunity awaited the settlers who went to such states as Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California, as well as Ontario and the prairie provinces of Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Thom or a variant listed above:

Thom Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Thom, who arrived in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1638 2

Thom Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Rosamund Thom, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1716
Benedictus Thom, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1749
Christian Thom, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1752 2
Hans Yerrick Thom, aged 30, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1753 2
Elias, Fred, George, Michael and William Thom, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1754 and 1840
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Thom Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jacob Thom, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1804 2
Fredk Thom, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1804 2
Johannes Thom, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1804 2
Peter Thom, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1804 2
Mary Thom, who settled in Trinity Bay in 1828
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Thom migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Thom Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Sophia Thom, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1757
Mr. Robert Thom U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 3

Thom Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

James Thom, who settled in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1822 4
Alexander Thom, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Ranger" in 1834
Carl Thom, aged 46, who landed in Quebec in 1868
John Thom, who settled in Burnt Island, Newfoundland in 1871 4

Thom migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Thom Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Mary Thom who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Brothers" on 20th November 1823, arriving in New South Wales, Australia and Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Elizabeth Thom, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Blundell" in 1851 6

Thom migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Thom Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

George Thom, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1842
William D. Thom, aged 26, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arawa" in 1884

Contemporary Notables of the name Thom (post 1700) +

James Alexander Craig Thom (1933-2023), American author, best known for his works in the Western genre and colonial American history
Mary Thom (1944-2013), American feminist, writer, and editor
James Crawford Thom, American painter
James Alexander Thom (b. 1933), American author
William Richard Thom (1885-1960), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from Ohio 16th District, 1933-39, 1941-43, 1945-47; Candidate for Presidential Elector for Ohio, 1956 7
Ronald D. Thom, American politician, Mayor of Oregon City, Oregon, 1983 7
Peter Thom, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Wisconsin, 1900 7
Jane Thom, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1964 7
Cameron Erskine Thom (1825-1915), American Democratic Party politician, Los Angeles County District Attorney, 1854-57, 1869-73, 1877-79; Member of California State Senate, 1858-59 7
A. P. Thom Jr., American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Virginia, 1916 7
... (Another 12 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/brothers
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) BLUNDELL 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Blundell.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html