Toms
A patronymic surname meaning “Tom’s son” or simply “belonging to Tom,” from the medieval pet form Tom for Thomas.
The #6,764 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 61,922 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Toms is an English patronymic formed from the pet name Tom, itself a short form of Thomas. In old surname usage, the ending -s often meant “son of” or “belonging to,” so Toms could originally mean “Tom’s son.” The surname is therefore closely related to forms like Tomson, Thomson, and Thompson.
History
The name appears in English records in several related spellings, and 19th-century surname writers treated it as one of the standard descendants of Thomas. It is especially common in England and also occurs in places influenced by English naming patterns, including the United States. Some historical writers noted that the -s ending could reflect a patronymic genitive rather than a literal plural or separate suffix.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname dictionaries sometimes grouped Toms with a whole family of Thomas-based names, showing how productive that one medieval nickname became.
From the historical record
“intrus. />) Tomson, Thomson, q.v. TOMS, Tom's (Son) 1 Tom, like Thorn, a TOMSON, Tom's Son J dim. of Thomas, q.v. TOMSETT TOMSITT TONER (Ir.) The family of O'Tomhrair, who now call themselves Toner, took their name from an ancestor 'lomhrar. — ^Joyce, Ir. Names of PI., ii. 139. TONG 1 (Eng.) Bel. to Tong or Tonge; or”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)