 Thynne's family also used the surname Boteville (or Botfield), so was often called "Thynne alias Boteville".Thynne was born in Church Stretton, Shropshire, in 1515, and was the eldest son of Thomas Thynne, otherwise Botevile, and of his wife Margaret, a daughter of Thomas Eynns.His uncle William Thynne was a courtier in the household of King Henry VIII and a literary editor.