# Tomlin (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/tomlin/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname transferred from the given name.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 11,797 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,036 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 26,172 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.5% (11,397 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Toulmin |

## Etymology

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Thomas.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Tomlin in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 76% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 19% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Tomlin in the United States.

## People named Tomlin

- Lily Tomlin, American actress
- Chris Tomlin, American Christian musician
- Mike Tomlin, American football coach (born 1972)
- Bradley Walker Tomlin, American artist (1899-1953)
- Nae'Qwan Tomlin, American basketball player

## Similar surnames

Tumlin, Timlin, Tomlinson.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.