"Jock Tamson's bairns" is a Lowland Scots (and

Northumbrian English The Northumbrian dialect refers to any of several English language varieties spoken in the traditional English region of Northumbria, which includes most of the North East England government region. The traditional Northumbrian dialect is a ...

) dialect version of "Jack (John) Thomson's children" but both ''Jock'' and ''Tamson'' in this context take on the connotation of

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

. The Dictionary of the Scots Language gives the following definitions: *Jock: (1) A generic term for a man, a male person. (34) Jock Tamson's bairns: the human race, common humanity; also, with less universal force, a group of people united by a common sentiment, interest or purpose. Dictionary of the Scots Language entries (1) and (34) fo
Jock
Note the examples lower down the page. Further examples are to be found in th
supplement to the dictionary
*Tamson: a Scottish form of the surname Thomson. In phrases Tamson stands for the ordinary representative man in the street: Jock Tamson's bairns, common humanity. The phrase is used in common speech in Scotland and it also occurs in general culture. Some examples are: the play of that name by Liz Lochhead; a folk music group of that name; the title of a book describing the official records of the Scottish nation; parliamentary speeches by

Winnie Ewing Winifred Margaret Ewing (' Woodburn; born 10 July 1929) is a Scottish politician, lawyer and figure within the independence movement who served as President of the Scottish National Party from 1987 to 2005. Ewing was a Member of the Scottish ...

and

Patrick Harvie Patrick Harvie (born 18 March 1973) is a Scottish politician who has served as Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights since 2021. He has served as one of two co-leaders of the Scottish Greens since 2008, and is on ...

and Morag Alexander, the Scottish Commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). The phrase more often occurs in an extended form: ''We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns''. This is interpreted in a metaphorical sense as a statement of egalitarian sentiments equivalent to "we're all the same under the skin" or "we are all God's children". The origin of the phrase is uncertain. The earliest reference quoted in the Dictionary of the Scots Language is from 1847 where it describes the phrase as "an expression of mutual good fellowship very frequently heard in Scotland." One suggestion is that it was simply common usage in the Fife town of Buckhaven which had 70 Thomson families out of a total of 160 families in 1833. Another is that the Reverend John Thomson, minister of

Duddingston Kirk Duddingston Kirk is a Parish Church in the Church of Scotland, located adjacent to Holyrood Park in Duddingston Village, on the east side of the City of Edinburgh. Regular services are held at the kirk, conducted by the minister, Rev Dr James ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, from 1805 to 1840, called the members of his congregation (and his many children) "ma bairns". The latter saying may well be the reason for the location of the plaque illustrated above. The equivalent phrase in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

is "Clann MhicThomais" (

Clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, mea ...

MacThomas).

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=February 2020 National personifications Scottish culture Scots language Scottish folklore Northumbrian folklore