Thoma
A surname that most often began as a shortened form of Thomas, the name of the apostle.
The #8,150 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 75,896 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Thoma is generally understood as a shortened or variant form of Thomas. Thomas ultimately comes from the Aramaic name Ta'oma', meaning “twin,” which passed into Greek and Latin before becoming widespread in medieval Europe. In some records, forms like Thoma can also reflect continental spelling habits, especially in French-influenced contexts.
History
The historical evidence points to Thoma as a spelling variant or clipped form of Thomas rather than a fully separate surname. Such forms were common in medieval and early modern records, where spelling was fluid and scribes often shortened familiar given names into surnames. The name became established in several English-speaking and continental European areas, and today it may appear as either a surname or an uncommon given-name form in older documents.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because medieval spelling was highly variable, a record written as Thoma may in some cases be the same family line that appears elsewhere as Thomas or Thom.
From the historical record
“THOMASON, Thomas's Son: v. Thomas. THOMASSET=Thoma8 (q.v.) = the Fr. dim. suff. -et. THOMASSIN = Thomas (q.v.) + the Fr. dim. suff. -in.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)