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© 2007-2008 Clan Thompson

FAQS

 

Is it Thompson or Thomson?

What is an honourable community?

What is a clan?

Are the Thom(p)sons a clan?

This may seem a stupid question at this point, but.......were Thom(p)sons ever a clan?

Name variations worldwide

Can MacTavish claim Thom(p)sons?

 

Question:  Is it Thompson or Thomson?

Answer:  Standardization of the spelling of surnames (orthography) came much later than most people realize.  Thomson and Thompson are the same name and it is only from the mid-18th century that those north of the Forth and Clyde tended to stick to Thomson while those further south and in England moved towards Thompson as the standard.  These are generalizations only.  Prior to this time you can find legal documents with a man's name spelled as Thomson and Thompson on the same page.

 

Question:  What is an honourable community?

Answer:  In brief, an honourable community is a Scottish group recognized as such by Lyon, sharing the same name, and behaving in a way similar to that of a clan that descends from a common ancestor -- even though it  does not have a common ancestor.  There will be arms believed by Lyon
to be the stem arms of the family name, even though no one bears them  today, and anyone of the name seeking a grant will, in normal circumstances, receive a differenced version of those stem arms.

 

Question:  What is a clan?
Answer:  The official word from Lyon Office is --
The clan system is closely bound up with Scottish heraldry. The best definition of a clan provided by a heraldic authority is contained in Nisbet's "System of Heraldry", published in 1722: ‘A social group consisting of an aggregate of distinct erected families actually descended, or accepting themselves as descendants of a common ancestor, and which has been received by the Sovereign through its Supreme Officer of Honour, the Lord Lyon, as an honourable

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