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

Northumbrian English Northumbrian dialect or Northumbrian English is any one of several traditional English language varieties, English dialects spoken in the historic counties of Northumberland and County Durham. The term ''Northumbrian'' can refer to the region ...

) 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 and history The term ''everyman'' was used ...

. The

Dictionary of the Scots Language The ''Dictionary of the Scots Language'' (DSL) (, ) is an online Scots– English dictionary run by Dictionaries of the Scots Language. Freely available via the Internet, the work comprises the two major dictionaries 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.

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 (; 10 July 1929 – 21 June 2023) was a Scottish lawyer and politician who figured prominently in the Scottish National Party. Born and raised in Glasgow, Ewing studied law at the University of Glasgow, where she joine ...

and

Patrick Harvie Patrick Harvie (born 18 March 1973) is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights from 2021 to 2024. He has served as one of two co-leaders of the Scottish Greens since 2008, and i ...

and Morag Alexander, the Scottish Commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) with the latter noting that Scots are less tolerant of immigrants than they appear to think that they are. 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. History Cassel identifies the buildin ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, 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 (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

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, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

MacThomas).

References

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