Thorn Name Meaning, Origin and Heraldry

In census returns, Thorn often stands in for Thorne. Taken at its root, Thorn points to “one who lived by a thorn bush”.

• Thorn drops the “e” of Thorne, a simplification that clerks often made.
• 9,988 Americans were listed as Thorn in the 2010 census. 193 people born in France between 1891 and 2000 carried the Thorn name at birth.
• Related forms: Thornes and Torne.

Heraldry and the Thorn name

Arms linked to Thorne and its spellings were granted to individual families; our heraldry team traces which line they belonged to. For the full story, order the Thorn surname pack.