Based on the Lion King 1 1/2 deleted scenes, Timon was originally supposed to have a dad, but for simplification, a lot of his dad's dialogue was transferred to Ma and the character removed from the movie. One deleted scenes showed that Timon's dad as a typical Meerkat: afraid of everything, and belonging to the colony and that's basically it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRl_liSsCl4#t=4m49s
Recently I came across a video about a Meerkat... who reminded me a lot of this Timon's dad. Not to mention, this very Meerkat complains that because all Meerkats look the same, that they might as well all be named Timon. Well now we know where that name comes from.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce9WX8xec1Y