Thorne is a surname of English origin, originally referring to a thorn bush. Thorne is the 1,721st most common surname name in the United States.[1]
The Thorne family's origins date back to the period prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066, to the county of Somerset. Thorne is an English name, now found mostly in Dorset and Devon, counties on the southwestern coast of England. A knighthood was bestowed on William Thorne by King Richard the Lion Hearted for heroism during the Third Crusade in approximately 1199. The Thorne motto "Vincere vel Mori" translates to "Conquer or die".[2]
Notable people with the name include:
- Adande Thorne, Trinidadian-American YouTube celebrity
- Alfred A. Thorne (1871–1956), British Guyanese statesman, author and activist
- Angela Thorne (1939–2023), English actor
- Ahrne Thorne (1904–1985), American newspaper editor
- Bella Thorne (born 1997), American actress, singer, and model
- Callie Thorne (born 1969), American actress
- Carlos Thorne (1923–2021), Peruvian novelist, writer and lawyer
- Chris Thorne (actor) in Shake Hands with the Devil (2007 film)
- Chris Thorn in Minnesota Vikings draft history
- Christopher Thorne (disambiguation)
- Jon Thorne, English double bassist and composer
- Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne (born 1943), Roman Catholic Cardinal Priest and Archbishop of Lima
- Julia Thorne (1944–2006), American writer and first wife of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
- Junaid Thorne, radical Muslim preacher from Australia
- Kip Thorne (born 1940), American theoretical physicist
- Larry Thorne, nom de guerre of Finnish mercenary Lauri Törni
- Leslie Thorne (1916–1993), British racing driver
- Lizette Thorne (1882–1970), English-born silent film actress
- Mary Evans Thorne (c. 1740–after 1813), American Methodist leader
- Matt Thorne (born 1974), English novelist
- Michael G. Thorne (born 1940), American politician
- Michelle Thorne (born 1975), British actress, director, and model
- Neil Thorne (born 1932), British Conservative Party politician
- Nola Thorne, Panamanian track and field athlete
- Norman Thorne (1902-1925), convicted of the 'Chicken run murder'
- Payton Thorne (born 2001), American football player
- Peter Thorne (disambiguation)
- Reuben Thorne (born 1975), New Zealand rugby union player
- Robert Folger Thorne (1920–2015), American botanist
- Rhonda Thorne (born 1958), Australian squash player
- Ryan Thorne (born 1971), Canadian women's basketball coach
- Samuel Thorn, Writer Brazilian
- Sarah Thorne (1836 - 1899), British actress
- Stan Thorne (1918–2007), British Labour Party politician
- Shane Thorne, ring name of Australian wrestler Shane Veryzer (born 1985)
- Stephen Thorne (1935–2019), British actor
- Thomas Thorne (1841–1918), English actor and theatre manager
- Thomas Woolsey Thorne (1823–1885), American police officer
- Will Thorne (1857–1946), British trade unionist and Labour Party Member of Parliament
- William Thorne (disambiguation)
- William Thorne (chronicler) (fl. 1397), English Benedictine monk
- William Thorne (orientalist) (c 1568–1630), English Hebraist
- William Thorne Sr. (c. 1616–c.1664), American Quaker, signer of the Flushing Remonstrance
- William Thorne (mayor of Brisbane), mayor of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 1898
- William Thorne (mayor of Cape Town) (1839–1917), mayor of Cape Town (1901–1904)
- William Henry Thorne (1844–1923), Canadian Senator for New Brunswick (1913–1923)
- William P. Thorne (1845–1928), Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky (1903–1907)
- William Thorne (philatelist) (1845–1907), American businessman and philatelist
- William V.S. Thorne (1865–1920), American tennis player
- William L. Thorne (1878–1948), American film actor
- William A. Thorne Jr., judge of the Utah Court of Appeals (2000–present)
- Willie Thorne (1954–2020), English snooker player and sports commentator
- Worley Thorne, American screenwriter, television writer, and college instructor