The surname Thomson, is patronymic, meaning that it is passed on to the next generation by taking the father’s first name and adding ‘son’ on the end. The has led to the Thomson name becoming widespread across Scotland and means that it is hard to track down a specific ancestor for the clan.
The closest that the clan has to a possible progenitor likely comes from the ‘MacThomas’ clan and many Thomson family members share a common ancestry with this group.
The progenitor of both clans is believed to have been Tomaidh Mor, a descendant of the Clan Chattan Mackintoshes. Tomaidh would live in the 15th century and took his kinsmen and followers across the Grampian Mountains from Badenoch to Glenshee, where they would settle.
It is from here that the Thomson name would later appear in connection to the clan with many members choosing to change their surname to the more anglicised Thomson in the late 17th century. Many of these new ‘Thomsons’ would then move around the country giving the clan its ubiquitous nature today.
