Given name & surname
Thomas
“twin”
Thomas means “twin,” with a history that leads from an Aramaic byname through the Greek New Testament.
Original Aramaicתאומא
Meaning & origin
What it means
The original Aramaic byname means “twin.”
Where it comes from
Thomas developed from an Aramaic byname and reached wider use through its Greek biblical form.
How it developed
The apostle is called Thomas and also Didymus in the New Testament. Didymus reflects the Greek word for “twin,” matching the meaning of the Aramaic byname behind Thomas.
The story
Thomas was the name of one of Jesus’s twelve apostles, remembered in Christian tradition for his doubts and later reassurance. That story helped establish the name across Christian naming traditions.
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Thomas appears in John 11:16, Matthew 24:23-26, John 20:29.
- John 11:16
- Matthew 24:23-26
- John 20:29
From biblical name research
Thomas through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,367,087
- 2,358,576 boys · 8,511 girls
- Most popular year
- 1952
- 48,725 babies
- 2025
- 6,924
- #34 for boys · #13,075 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −3%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6,917 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 34 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 3.4% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 48,647 in 1952. It also appeared in 7 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (598). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,506,606 as a first name in 2020; 734,345 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Thomas’s family of names
In English usage, Thomas has a diminutive in Tommy. In Filipino usage, Thomas shares an earlier linguistic root with Tomas. Thomas has a related form in Tom.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Thomas has relatives in 66 languages. Lines run from its Aramaic roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 82
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Tommypet form · English, French
- Tomasvariant · French, Danish
- Tommievariant · English
- Tomdiminutive · English, German
- Thompsonvariant
- Tommasovariant · Italian
- Maysshort form · English
- Tamdiminutive · Scots
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- Tomaszvariant · Polish
- Thomsonvariant
- Thommaslikely variant
- Thomasslikely variant
- Thomdiminutive · English, German
- Tamlyndiminutive · English
- Tamasinevariant
- Tomovariant · Serbo-Croatian
- Tommeyvariant
- Tomevariant
- Thomasonvariant · English
- Thomavariant · German
- Tamasvariant
- Tommvariant · German
- Thomsvariant · German
- Thomesvariant · German
- Masoshort form
- Tthomaslikely variant
- Tamkusdiminutive · Lithuanian
- McComiediminutive · English
- Tomsettdiminutive · English
- Tomblingdiminutive · English
- Thomsettdiminutive · English
- Thompsettdiminutive · English
- Mccombiediminutive · English
- Mccombediminutive · English
- Tompkinsondiminutive · English
- Tomlinsondiminutive · English
- Tomkinsondiminutive · English
- Thomlinsondiminutive · English
- Tonkindiminutive · English
- Tompsettdiminutive · English
- Tompkindiminutive · English
- Tomlindiminutive · English
- Tomkindiminutive · English
- Tomblindiminutive · English
- Tomalindiminutive · English
- Tamplindiminutive · English
- Tamlindiminutive · English
- Tamblingdiminutive · English
- Tamblindiminutive · English
- Tamnaisvariant
- Tomosvariant · Welsh
- Tomikvariant
- Tuomasvariant · Finnish
- Thomkinsvariant
- Tomislawvariant
- Tomekvariant · Polish
- Tomassovariant
- Tomasovariant · Esperanto
- Tamhasvariant
- Maasshort form · German
And 22 more.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 85
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- תאומאroot · Aramaic, Hebrew
- ܬܐܘܡܐAramaic
- Mazederivative · English
- Tommiequivalent
- Tomiequivalent
- TomaRomanian, Croatian
- Thomasinfeminine form · English
- Tomasiequivalent
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- Themisequivalent
- Tomyequivalent
- Thomasinefeminine form · English
- Tamblynderivative · English
- Tamsinfeminine form · English
- Tiprelated form
- Thomasinafeminine form
- Makisequivalent
- TomislavSerbo-Croatian, Croatian
- TomazBreton
- Tomašasequivalent
- Tômaequivalent
- Ѳѡмаequivalent
- തോമാequivalent
- Тамашequivalent
- Tammasequivalent
- Tümaequivalent
- Thomerson“son of” surname · English
- Thomasson“son of” surname · English
- 多馬borrowing · Chinese
- ТомасRussian
- ФомаRussian
- തോമസ്borrowing · Malayalam
- 托馬斯borrowing · Chinese
- Tuumarsiborrowing · Greenlandic
- McCavishpatronymic from · English
- Tomkyspatronymic from · English
- Tomkisspatronymic from · English
- Tomássee also · Spanish, Portuguese
- Tòmasborrowing · Scottish Gaelic
- Tuumaborrowing · Greenlandic
- Mccombpatronymic from · English
- Tomlinspatronymic from · English
- Tompkinspatronymic from · English
- Tomkiespatronymic from · English
- Kamakiborrowing · Hawaiian
- Thominefeminine form · Danish
- Tamásborrowing · Hungarian
- Tomkinspatronymic from · English
- TomašUpper Sorbian
- Tomášderivative · Czech, Slovak
- Tuomorelated form · Finnish
- Motasequivalent
- Tomassequivalent
- Khomaequivalent
- Μάκηςequivalent
- Θέμηςequivalent
- TāmatiMāori
- ToomasEstonian
- Dümăspox
- トーマスJapanese
- TuomalaFinnish
And 25 more.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Thomas
- Thomas EdisonAmerican inventor and businessman (1847–1931)
- Thomas JeffersonFounding Father, U.S. president from 1801 to 1809 (1743–1826)
- Thomas AquinasItalian Dominican friar, philosopher, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church (1225–1274)
- Woodrow Wilson28th President of the United States (1913–1921)1856–1924
- Thomas HobbesEnglish philosopher (1588–1679)
- T. S. EliotUS-British poet (1888–1965)
- Sean ConneryScottish actor (1930–2020)
- Thomas PaineAmerican Founding Father, philosopher, and political activist (1737–1809)
- Tom HanksAmerican actor and film producer (born 1956)
Characters named Thomas: Tommy Atkins (nickname for a British Soldier, especially used during World War I), Hush (fictional character, a comic book supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics), Thomas Wayne (fictional character, father of Bruce Wayne (Batman)), Owlman (fictional supervillains in DC comics alternate universe).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
- Biblical names
- Principal apostolic names enumerated in source
- T Names
- Revived nineteenth-century names
- Most Popular Names of the 1960s
- Early Beginnings: settler names
- Most Popular Names of the 1950s
- Most Popular Names of the 1940s
- Most Popular Names of the 1930s
- Most Popular Names of the 1910s
- Most Popular Names of the 1900s
- Masterpiece Theatre Names
- Classic Names
- British Authors
- Pirate Names
- Famous Generals
- Most Popular Names of 2006
- Stunt Performers
- Senators
- Popular Names in the Netherlands
- Names That Are Candidates for Nicknames
- Sailors
- Popular Names in France
- Popular Names in Belgium
- Popular Names in New Zealand
- Popular Names in England and Wales
- Saint Names
Similar names
If you love Thomas, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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