Contents [hide]

Thorn History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Sources

Thorn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

Etymology of Thorn

What does the name Thorn mean?

Similar to many Austrian family names, the distinguished surname Thorn is a proud sign of a rich and ancient ancestry. The earliest forms of hereditary surnames in Austria were the patronymic surnames, which are derived from the father's given name, and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the mother's given name. Austrian and German patronymic names emerged as early as the mid-9th century and the most common patronymic suffix is ez. The patronyms were derived from a variety of given names that were of many different origins. The name Thorn is derived from the ancient Germanic personal name Thor, meaning thunder.

Early Origins of the Thorn family

The surname Thorn was first found in the province of Tyrol in Austria, where the name became identified in early mediaeval times with the feudal society which would play a prominent role throughout European history. The name would later emerge as a noble family with great influence, having many distinguished branches, and become noted for its participation in social, economic and political affairs.

Early History of the Thorn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Thorn research. Another 160 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1165 and 1755 are included under the topic Early Thorn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thorn Spelling Variations

In the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Thorn include Thor, Thorer, Thoren, Thorn, Torr, Thorr, Thorre and many more.

Early Notables of the Thorn family

Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Thorn Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thorn Ranking

In the United States, the name Thorn is the 2,785^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 1

Thorn migration to the United States +

After the First World War, Austria became a republic. The Treaty of Versailles broke up the empire in 1919 and many of the Sudeten Germans were incorporated into the new nation of Czechoslovakia. In the 20th century, many Austrians migrated to other parts of Germany or Europe, as well as to North America. In the United States, the majority of settlers landed in Philadelphia, and moved on to Ohio, Texas, Illinois, California, New York, and Maryland. Many German settlers also migrated to Canada, particularly Ontario and the Prairies. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Thorn were

Thorn Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Thorn, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1629 2
Ann Thorn, who arrived in Maryland in 1653-1654 2

Thorn Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joseph Thorn, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1712
Peter Thorn, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1769 2
Samuel Thorn, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1773 2
Sydinham Thorn, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1774 2

Thorn Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James D Thorn, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1827 2
Frost Thorn, aged 34, who landed in Texas in 1829 2
James Thorn, who arrived in New York in 1832 2
Edward Thorn, who arrived in New York in 1832 2
John S Thorn, who arrived in Texas in 1835 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Thorn migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Thorn Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Robert Thorn U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 3
Mr. Samuel Thorn U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 3
Mr. Joseph Thorn U.E., (Thorne) born in New York, USA who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 3
Mr. Melancthon Thorn U.E., (Melanthon, Thorne) (b. 1758) born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 married to Hannah Butler in 1779 having 1 child, he died in 1842 3
Mr. William Thorn U.E., (Thorne) born in New York, USA who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 3

Thorn Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Nicholas Thorn, who arrived in Canada in 1841

Thorn migration to Australia +

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

Thorn Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Thorn, (b. 1784), aged 29, English stone mason who was convicted in Devon, England for life for burglary, transported aboard the "Earl Spencer" in May 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1874 4
Mrs. Sarah Thorn, (Thornton), (b. 1790), aged 24, English house wife who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life for theft, transported aboard the "Broxbournebury" in January 1814, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1827 5
John Thorn, a shoemaker, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
Mr. James Thorn, (Taylor, Jason, Thorne), (b. 1800), aged 28, English farm servant who was convicted in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 29th April 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Charles Thorn, English convict who was convicted in Devon, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 27th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Thorn 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:

Thorn Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Amelia Thorn, aged 16, a servant, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bombay" in 1842 8
John Thorn, aged 14, a labourer, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bombay" in 1842 8
Mr. James Thorn, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Rock City" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 4th June 1855 9
Mr. William H. Thorn (Thorne), (b. 1846), aged 17, English tanner, from Gloucestershire travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastopol" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st May 1863 9
Mr. Joseph Thorn, British ploughman travelling from London aboard the ship "Himalaya" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 10th February 1867 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Thorn (post 1700) +

William R. Thorn, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 1956 11
William E. Thorn, American politician, Mayor of Cohoes, New York, 1878-82 11
Stephen Thorn, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Dutchess County, 1835 11
Sue Thorn, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from West Virginia 1st District, 2012 11
Stephen Thorn, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Washington County, 1803-04; Member of New York State Senate, 1804-08, 1823-25 (Eastern District 1804-08, 2nd District 1823-25) 11
Solomon P. Thorn, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Ulster County 2nd District, 1899, 1901, 1903 11
Jill Thorn, American Democratic Party politician, Mayor of West Linn, Oregon, 1990, 1993-2000; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Oregon, 2008 11
James S. Thorn, American politician, Mayor of Troy, New York, 1862-63, 1864-65; Member of New York State Assembly from Rensselaer County 1st District, 1866 11
James B. Thorn, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Michigan Democratic State Central Committee, 1899 11
James Thorn, American politician, Member of Nebraska State House of Representatives, 1866 11
... (Another 22 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Thorn family +

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Alfred Richard Thorn, English First Waiter from Liverpool, England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 12

Senghenydd colliery

Mr. Albert William Henry Thorn (b. 1885), Welsh coal miner from Senghenydd, Caerphilly, Wales who was working at the Senghenydd colliery when there was an explosion on the 14th October 1913; he died 13

Sources +

"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
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-spencer
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/broxbournebury
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th April 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 7th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, August 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 7) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/
Universal Colliery Senghenydd 1913 disaster retrieved 21st September 2019, retrieved from http://www.welshcoalmines.co.uk/deathrolls/SenghenyddDead1913.htm