James Thornton may refer to:
Entertainment James Thornton (songwriter) (1861–1938), American songwriter and vaudeville performer Jim Thornton (born 1965), American TV and radio announcer James Thornton (actor) (born 1975), English actor
Politics and law James Innes Thornton (1800–1877), Alabama planter and politician James Johnston Thornton (1816–1884), judge, land developer, and quartermaster of the Union Army James D. Thornton (1823–1902), California Supreme Court Justice James Thornton (environmentalist), environmental lawyer and writer
Other James Thornton (tight end) (born 1965), American football player James Thornton (cricketer) (1861–1916), English cricketer James Thornton (naval officer) (1826–1875), officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War James R. Thornton (1853–1911), president of Hampden–Sydney College for two and a half weeks in 1904 James Worth Thornton (1906–1983), businessman and scion of the Thorntons of Indiana James Thornton (health economist) (born 1955), professor of economics at Eastern Michigan University James E. Thornton, American computer scientist