Thunder Family History

Native American: translation into English (and shortening) of a personal name based on a word such as Lakota and Dakota Sioux wakiŋyaŋ meaning ‘thunder’. In the cosmology of some Native American peoples, thunder is personified and considered a sacred power. This is reflected in traditional Native American personal names, some of which were adopted as surnames (translated into English) e.g. Thunder Hawk (see Thunderhawk).

English: nickname from Middle English thonder thunder ‘thunder’ (Old English thunor) perhaps used for someone with a thunderous voice.

English: occupational name from Middle English tunder (Old French tondour) ‘shearman; one who shears the nap of woollen cloth’.