Thomas
An ancient biblical name meaning “twin,” Thomas became one of the most common surnames in the English-speaking world.
The #16 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 408 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname comes from the medieval personal name Thomas, ultimately from Aramaic Tom(a) or Ta'oma', meaning “twin.” That name passed into Greek and Latin through the New Testament and then into medieval European use, especially after the Norman Conquest. As a surname, it arose mainly as a patronymic: “son of Thomas” or simply someone identified by having Thomas as an ancestor or namesake.
History
The name was already common in England by the Middle Ages and soon generated a large family of surnames and diminutives. Historical dictionaries note that it became especially productive in forms such as Thompson, Thomson, Tomson, Tomkins, Toms, and similar variants. Because Thomas was such a frequent baptismal name, the surname spread widely and independently in many places, making it especially common in Britain and later in North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The apostle Thomas was traditionally called “Didymus,” another word for “twin,” which is why some older sources gloss the name that way.
From the historical record
“Robert fil. Thome.— Hund. Rolls. THOMAS (A.-Fr.-Lat.-Gr.-Heb.) Twin [Lat. Thomas, Gr. Thomas {Qaims) ', Heb. Tomi\ Witodllce Thomas, 4n of J>am twelfum, l>e is gecweden Z)idimus [Gr. SlSv/ios, twin] . . . — St. John, XX. 24. (A.-Sax. version).”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)