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Thistle History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Thistle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Thistle family

The surname Thistle was first found in the Channel Islands where the name is generally believed to be derived from the French surname Touzel and in this case, it would have been a nickname for a "young man with hair cut short." 1 Alternatively, the name could have been for a "dweller near thistles or prickly plants." 2

However, another source claims the name was a baptismal name as in "son of Thurkettle," and a variant of Thirkell or Turkle. "This corruption was an early one, for a township in the parish of Swine, East Riding of Yorkshire, bears the name Thirtleby, i.e. the dwelling of Thurkell, the first settler." 3

The name may have been the root of the name Thistleton. In this case, the "surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Thistleton,' a parish in Rutland, eight miles from Oakham." 3 The earliest record of that family was found in the Feet of Fines of Lancashire in 1250 as Adam de Thistleton. 4 Just a few years later, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Adam de Thistelton, in Lincolnshire at that time. 3

The name Thistle is numerous in Newfoundland as according to family tradition "one of four Thistle brothers from Guernsey (Channel Islands) settled in Harbour Grace c. 1663." 1

Early History of the Thistle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Thistle research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1663 is included under the topic Early Thistle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thistle Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Thistle, Thissell, Thisell, Thisle and others.

Early Notables of the Thistle family

More information is included under the topic Early Thistle Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thistle Ranking

In Newfoundland, Canada, the name Thistle is the 236^th most popular surname with an estimated 187 people with that name. 5

Thistle migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Thistle Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jeffrey Thistle, who settled in Marblehead Massachusetts in 1635

Thistle Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Richard Thistle, who settled in America in 1715

Thistle Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Thistle, who settled in Philadelphia in 1862

Thistle migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Thistle Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Amy Thistle of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, who claimed her ancestors settled there in 1663 6

Thistle Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Thomas Thistle, who was Constable of Carbonear about 1730

Contemporary Notables of the name Thistle (post 1700) +

Thomas L. Thistle, American politician, Mayor of Melrose, Massachusetts, 1953 7
Thomas Thistle (1813-1892), English wool draper and gentleman of Liverpool, father of Thomas Thistle, the Anglican priest
Thomas Thistle (1853-1936), English Anglican priest in England, New Zealand and Australia
Anna Thistle, Canadian politician who represented the electoral district of Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans, Newfoundland (1996-2007)
Jim Thistle (1955-2016), Canadian lawyer and politician from St. John's, Newfoundland who was a key negotiator of the 1985 Atlantic Accord between the Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Jesse Thistle, born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he is a Métis-Cree PhD student in the History program at York University
Michael James Thistle (b. 1980), Australian cricketer who played several matches for Western Australia in 2003
Thistle Yolette Harris (1902-1990), also known as Thistle Stead, an Australian botanist, educator, author and conservationist from Sydney

Historic Events for the Thistle family +

SS Caribou

Mr. Edward Allan Thistle (b. 1914), British passenger who was Royal Air Force was travelling aboard the railway ferry "SS Caribou" when it was struck by a German submarine torpedo on 14th October 1942, the most significant sinking in Canadian waters at that time, he died in the sinking

Citations +

Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland Montreal: McGill's-Queen's University Press 1998. Print. (ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html