Thornton is a surname found in Ireland and Britain.

• Abraham Thornton
• Al Thornton (born 1983), American basketball player
• Alfred Thornton (1853–1906), English footballer from the 1870s
• Alice Thornton (1626–1707), British autobiographer
• Andre Thornton (born 1949), American baseball player
• Andrew Thornton (born 1972), British jockey
• Andrew C. Thornton II (1944–1985), American narcotics officer, lawyer, and drug smuggler
• Anne Jane Thornton (1817–1877), cabin boy and ship's cook
• Anne Thornton (born 1981), American pastry chef
• Archibald Thornton (1921–2004), Scottish academic and historian
• A. G. Thornton (1886–1969), British novelist and journalist
• Sadik Hakim (born Argonne Thornton, 1919–1983) American jazz pianist and composer
• Barry Thornton, RAF officer
• Barry Thornton (cricketer) (born 1941), Australian cricketer
• Big Mama Thornton (1926–1984), American singer and songwriter
• Billy Bob Thornton (born 1955), American actor
• Bonnell Thornton (1725 – 1768), English poet, essayist, and critic
• Bret Thornton (born 1983), Australian rules footballer
• Bruce Thornton (born 1953), American classicist
  • Bruce Thornton (cornerback)
• Charley Thornton (1936–2004), American college athletics administrator
• David Thornton (musician) (born 1978), British euphonium player
• David Thornton (actor) (born 1953), American actor and husband to Cyndi Lauper
• David Thornton (American football) (born 1978), linebacker for the Tennessee Titans
• De'mario Monte Thornton, real name of Raz-B, member of boy band B2K
• Duncan Thornton (born 1962), Canadian author, speaker, and futurist
• Edward Thornton (disambiguation)
• Eleanor Velasco Thornton (1880–1915), British actress and model
• Elizabeth Thornton (1940 – 12 July 2010), British-Canadian writer
• Flora L. Thornton (1913–2010), American actress and philanthropist
• Frank Thornton (1921–2013), English actor
• George Thornton (disambiguation)
• Glenys Thornton, Baroness Thornton
• Grant Thornton
• Henry Thornton (disambiguation)
  • Henry Thornton (abolitionist) (1760–1815), campaigner against the slave trade
  • Henry Thornton (railroader) (1871–1933), president of Canadian National Railway
• Hugh Thornton (American football) (born 1991), American football player
• James Thornton (disambiguation)
  • James Thornton (naval officer) (1826–1875)
  • James Worth Thornton, businessman and son of Sir Henry Worth Thornton
  • Jim Thornton (born 1965), American announcer, news anchor, and voice actor
• Joe Thornton (born 1979), Canadian ice hockey player
• John L. Thornton (born 1954), American business man
• John R. Thornton (1846–1917), American politician
• John Wingate Thornton (1818–1878), American lawyer, historian, author
• John Thornton (1720–1790), British merchant and Christian philanthropist
• Kalen Thornton (born 1982), American football player
• Kate Thornton (born 1973), English television presenter
• Kathryn Thornton (born 1952), American scientist and astronaut
• Keith Thornton (born 1963), American hip hop artist Kool Keith
• Kelly Thornton (born 1997), Irish actress
• Kelly Thornton (born 1965), Canadian theatre director and dramaturge
• Kevin Thornton (chef), Irish Michelin starred chef
• Kevin Thornton (footballer) (born 1986), Irish footballer
• Khyri Thornton (born 1989), American football player
• Kirk Thornton, American voice actor, director and script writer
• Kristin Thornton (born 1988), Australian rules footballer
• Lawrence Thornton (born 1937), American novelist and critic
• Leslie Thornton (born 1951), American filmmaker and artist
• Leslie Thornton (sculptor) (1925–2016), English sculptor
• Lou Thornton (born 1963), former major league baseball player
• Malcolm Thornton (born 1939), British politician
• Marcia Thornton Jones (born 1958), American children's author
• Marcus Thornton (disambiguation)
• Mark Thornton (born 1960), American economist
• Matt Thornton (disambiguation)
• Matthew Thornton (1714–1803), first president of New Hampshire House of Representatives
• Melanie Thornton (1967–2001), American musician
• Melody Thornton (born 1984), American singer and television personality
• Merle Thornton (born 1930), Australian feminist activist
• Michael Thornton (disambiguation)
  • Michael B. Thornton (born 1954), American judge
• Omar Thornton, murderer of 8 and suicide, see Hartford Distributors shooting
• Patricia H. Thornton (born 1960s), American organizational theorist
• Paul Thornton, Live Events Producer
• Randy Thornton (born 1964),
• Richard Thornton (1776–1865), English millionaire
• Robert Thornton (disambiguation)
• Roger Thornton (died 1430), British politician
• Samantha Thornton (born 1966), Australian basketball player
• Samuel Thornton (disambiguation)
• Sara Thornton (disambiguation)
• Sarah L. Thornton (born 1965), cultural sociologist
• Scott Thornton (born 1971), Canadian ice hockey player
• Sean Thornton (born 1983), Irish professional footballer
• Shawn Thornton (born 1977), Canadian ice hockey player
• Sigrid Thornton (born 1959), Australian actress
• Simon Thornton (born 1977), Irish professional golfer
• Sidney Thornton (1954-2023), American football player
• Terrence Thornton (born 1977), birth name of American rapper and record executive Pusha T
• Tiffany Thornton (born 1986), American actress
• Tim Thornton (bishop) (born 1957), Bishop of Truro, and of Sherborne
• Tim Thornton (double bassist) (born 1988), British jazz double bassist
• Tim Thornton (musician, born 1973), English drummer, guitarist and novelist
• Tim Thornton (philosopher) (born 1966), British philosopher
• Trent Thornton (born 1993), American baseball player
• Tyquan Thornton (born 2000), American football player
• Walter Thornton (1875–1960), American baseball player
• Walter Thornton (cricketer) (1858–1915), English cricketer
• Warwick Thornton, Australian cinematographer and director
• William Thornton (disambiguation)
• Zach Thornton (born 1973), American soccer player
• Zack Thornton (born 1988), American baseball player

• Sean Thornton, a character portrayed by John Wayne in The Quiet Man

• Thornton Wilder, American playwright

Surname list

This page lists people with the surname Thornton.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.