Thomsen is a Danish

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

meaning 'son of Tom (or Thomas)', itself derived from the

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

תום or ''Tôm'', meaning "twin". There are many varied surname spellings, with the first historical record believed to be found in 1252. Thomsen is uncommon as a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2nd edition, , p. 260. People with the surname Thomsen include:

B

* Britta Thomsen (born 1954), Danish politician and member of the European Parliament

C

* Cecilie Thomsen (born 1974), Danish actress and model *

Christian Jürgensen Thomsen Christian Jürgensen Thomsen (29 December 1788 – 21 May 1865) was a Danish antiquarian who developed early archaeological techniques and methods. In 1816 he was appointed head of 'antiquarian' collections which later developed into the Na ...

(1788–1865), Danish archaeologist *

Claus Thomsen Claus Thomsen (born 31 May 1970) is a Danish former professional footballer. He won the Danish Cup with AGF Aarhus and played in England for top level teams Ipswich Town and Everton, as well as Wolfsburg in Germany. He played 20 matches fo ...

(born 1970), Danish former professional footballer

E

* Ebba Thomsen (1887–1973), Danish actress

F

* Finn Thomsen (born 1955), Danish motorcycle speedway rider * Fred Thomsen (1897–1986), American college football player and coach

G

* Gerhard Thomsen (1899–1934), German mathematician who worked in various branches of geometry *

Grímur Thomsen Grímur Thomsen (May 15, 1820 – November 27, 1896), Icelandic poet and editor, was born in Bessastaðir in 1820. He was the son of Þorgrímur Tómasson, a goldsmith. In 1837, he went to the University of Copenhagen, where he studied law and ...

(1820–1896), Icelandic poet and editor * Grover C. Thomsen, Danish-American chemist who created the soft drink Big Red (drink) in 1937 * Gunnar H. Thomsen, Faroese musician and member of

Týr (band) Týr () is a Faroese folk metal band. They have been characterised as one of "the islands' two most successful metal bands". Their subject matter revolves almost entirely around Viking lore, mythology, and history, taking their name from Týr, ...

, a Faroese heavy metal band active 1998–present

H

* Hans Peter Jørgen Julius Thomsen (1826–1909), Danish chemist noted in thermochemistry for the Thomsen–Berthelot principle * Hasse Thomsén (1942–2004), Swedish heavyweight boxer * Helle Thomsen (1970), Danish handball player

I

* Ib Thomsen (born 1961), Norwegian politician

K

* Knud Vad Thomsen (1905–1971) Danish composer

L

* Linda Chatman Thomsen (born 1954), American lawyer and public servant * Lynn Thomsen (born 1964), former American football player

M

* Mads Thomsen (born 1989), Danish former professional football forward * Mark A. Thomsen (born 1956), American operatic tenor * Marlene Thomsen (born 1971), Danish former badminton player * Martha Thomsen (born 1957), American model *

Martinus Thomsen Martinus Thomsen, referred to as Martinus, (11 August 1890 – 8 March 1981) was a Danish people, Danish author. Born into a poor family and with a limited education, Martinus claimed to have had a profound Spirituality, spiritual experience in M ...

(1890–1981), Danish writer and mystic * Moritz Thomsen (1915–1991), American farmer and writer * Maximo Thomsen (1999), Argentine former rugbier, leader of ''Los Demoledores''

P

* Philipp Thomsen, a perpetually drunken Kriegsmarine submarine commander in the book and film ''

Das Boot (; ) is a 1981 West Germany, West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer and Klaus Wennemann. An Film adaptation, adaptation of Lothar-Günthe ...

'' * Pia Thomsen, Danish cricketer * Poul Mathias Thomsen, Danish economist working for the International Monetary Fund

S

Søren Ulrik Thomsen Søren Ulrik Thomsen (born 8 May 1956) is a Danish poet. His debut was ''City Slang'', 1981. Life Søren Ulrik Thomsen was born in 1956 in Kalundborg. He grew up in Store Heddinge, Stevns, south of Copenhagen, where he went to school together ...

(born 1956), Danish poet *

Stu Thomsen Stuart L. Thomsen (born May 20, 1958, in Whittier, California) is an American former bicycle motocross (BMX) racer. Stu Thomsen was one of the first of the "Old School" of professional BMX racers who gained fame in the early days of the sport ...

(born 1958), American former bicycle motocross (BMX) racer * Sven Thomsen (1884–1968), Danish competitive sailor

T

* Tina Thomsen (born 1975), Danish-born Australian actress * Tue Bjørn Thomsen (1972–2006), Danish professional boxer

U

Ulrich Thomsen Ulrich Thomsen (born 6 December 1963) is a Danish actor and filmmaker, known for his role of Christian in the 1998 film '' The Celebration'' and for the role of Kai Proctor in the Cinemax original series ''Banshee'' (2013–2016). Early and per ...

(born 1963), Danish actor

V

* Vern Thomsen, American college football coach, 1983–1987 *

Vilhelm Thomsen Vilhelm Ludwig Peter Thomsen (25 January 1842 – 12 May 1927) was a Denmark, Danish linguistics, linguist and Turkologist. He successfully deciphered the Turkic Orkhon inscriptions which were discovered during the expedition of Nikolai Yadrintse ...

(1842–1927), Danish linguist

References

{{surname Danish-language surnames Patronymic surnames Surnames from given names