Tomlinson is not that common a surname. It means "son of little Tom" and according to "Behind the Name," it is the 315th most popular surname in England. (It's below Norris and Morton and Bibi --258th). David Tomlinson, the noted British character actor, was in
Mary Poppins, and as far as I know, that was the first time I'd ever seen my last name in a context unrelated to me and my family. The gorgeous Eleanor Tomlinson plays Demelza on the rebooted
Poldark series, and of course, there's football player
LaDanian Tomlinson. There's also perennial TMZ darling Louis Tomlinson, the One Direction singer who is mostly known at the moment for his nasty custody fight with his baby mama. Sigh.
None of these people are related to me. Nor was
Ray Tomlinson, the man credited with "inventing" email. I love email. I remember before there was an email and email is better. Really. (And I say this as someone who still handwrites "thank you" letters.) I wish I'd written Ray Tomlinson a "thank you" letter or at least a "thank you" email, because his invention changed my life. Rest in peace cousin.
