Thomas is a male given name of

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...

origins. The English spelling "Thomas" is a transliteration; through

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

"Thomas", of the approximate

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

transliteration ( el, Θωμᾶς, Thōmâs), from

; , from Classic Syriac; , meaning '

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with t ...

'. Thomas is recorded in the Greek

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

as the name of

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...

(one of the

twelve apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minis ...

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

Etymology

The masculine noun (Tôm) occurs throughout

Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigrant a ...

, always meaning 'twin'.

Popularity

Various historical figures such as

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

and

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...

have borne the name. This

list of people with given name Thomas {{short description, People with given name Thomas This article lists notable people with the given name Thomas. * Thomas (bishop of the East Angles) (fl. ca. 647–648), medieval Christian Bishop of Dunwich (ancient), bishop of Dunwich * Bastiamp ...

contains others.

Europe

Thomas was a popular name throughout medieval

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

. In Britain the name was rare prior to the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

(11th century CE), but by the 13th and 14th centuries it had become common. In 2017 it ranked 13th in popularity in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

with 3,246 babies given the name.

United States

The

Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability and survivor benefits. To qualify fo ...

lists the name Thomas as the ninth most popular name in the United States over the past 100 years. In 2017 it ranked 48th in popularity with 7,131 babies given the name.

In other languages

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans g ...

: Thomas * Albanian:

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, Thoma, Thomas * Alemmanic: Thömu, Thömus, Thömi * Amharic: ቶማስ (Tomas) *

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

: توماس (Tūmās) * Aragonese: Tomás *

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

: Թովմաս (Tʿovmas) *

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous c ...

: Tomas * Bavarian: Douma, Dammal, Dammerl *

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

: Фама́ (Famá) * Breton: Tomaz * Bulgarian: Тома́ (Tomá) *

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

: Tomàs * Chinese: (), () * Cornish: Tommas * Czech:

Tomáš Tomáš () is a Czech and Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas. It may refer to: * Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937), first President of Czechoslovakia * Tomáš Baťa (1876–1932), Czech footwear entrepreneur * Tomáš Berdych ...

* Danish: Thomas * Dutch: Thomas,

Thom The surname Thom is of Scottish origin, from the city of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Angus, and is a sept of the Clan MacThomas. Thom is also a first name variant of the abbreviation "Tom" of "Thomas" that holds the "h". People with the surname * ...

* English: Thomas, Tom * Estonian: Toomas * Faroese: Tummas * Finnish: Tuomas, Tommi, Toimi *

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

: Thom, Thomas *

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: Thomas * Frisian: Tomas * Friulian: Tomâs * Galician: Tomé *

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: Thomas, Tomas, Tom * Georgian: თომა (Toma), თომას (Tomas) *

: Θωμάς (Thomás) * Hawaiian: Koma, Kamaki *

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: (Ta'om), (Tomas) * Hungarian: Tamás * Icelandic: Tómas * Irish: Tomás, Tomáisín * Italian:

Tommaso Tommaso is an Italian given name. It has also been used as a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name A * Tommaso Acquaviva d'Aragona (1600–1672), Roman Catholic prelate * Tommaso Aldrovandini (1653–1736), Italian painter of ...

, Tomaso, Tom(m)asino * Japanese: (Tōmasu), (Tomu) *

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: (Doma), (Tom) *

: Thōmās * Latvian: Tomass, Tomas, Toms *

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

: Tomas * Lombard: Tomàs *

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

: Тома (Toma) *

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...

: Tumas *

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

: Toma *

Manx Manx (; formerly sometimes spelled Manks) is an adjective (and derived noun) describing things or people related to the Isle of Man: * Manx people **Manx surnames * Isle of Man It may also refer to: Languages * Manx language, also known as Manx ...

: Thomaase * Maori: Tāmati * Meitei (officially called Manipuri): (Thōmas), (Thōmās) * Norwegian: Thomas, Tomas * Occitan: Tomàs * Persian: توما (Tumâ), توماس‎ (Tumâs) * Polish: Tomasz * Portuguese: Tomé, Tomás * Romanian: Toma * Romansh: Tumasch * Russian: (Foma) * Sardinian: Tommasu *

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well a ...

: Tòmas *

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

: Тома/Toma, Томаш/Tomaš * Sicilian: Tumasi * Slovak:

, Thomas * Slovene: Tomaž *

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

: Tomás *

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: Thomas, Tomas * Tamil: (Tāmas), (Tōmā) *

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

: (Thāmas) * Tigrinya: (Tomas) *

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

: Tomas * Syriac Aramaic: ܬܐܘܡܐ (Toma) * Ukrainian: Хома (Homa), Тома (Toma) * Vietnamese: Tâm (Tom) * Walloon: Toumas *

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

: Tomos, Twm

Fictional characters

* Thomas Barrow, the underbutler on the series ''Downton Abbey'' * Thomas Burke, a character from the film ''Final Destination 2'' * Thomas Burke, a character from the video game '' Mafia III'' * Tom Cat also known as Thomas, the titular blue cat from the ''Tom and Jerry'' series * Thomas DuBois, a character from the comic strip and television series ''The Boondocks'' * Thomas Gordon, a character from the television drama ''Ghost Whisperer'' * Thomas Jefferson "T.J." Hooker, the main protagonist from the police drama '' T. J. Hooker'' * Thomas Shelby, the main protagonist from the crime drama ''Peaky Blinders'' * Thomas Paris, a character from the science fiction series '' Star Trek: Voyager'' * Tommy Pickles also known as Thomas, the main character from the animated television series ''The Rugrats'', and its spin-off series, ''All Grown Up'' * Thomas Tomone, a fictional character from the television series ''Skins'' *

Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is an anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive in the British '' Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945. He became the most popular and famous character in the seri ...

, a character in ''The Railway Series'' books and the titular protagonist of the ''Thomas & Friends'' franchise. * Thomas, an intern at the park who is a goat in the fourth season of ''

Regular Show ''Regular Show'' (known as ''Regular Show in Space'' during its Regular Show (season 8), eighth season) is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel for Cartoon Network. It ran from September 6, 2010, to January 16, 2017, over the co ...

'' * Thomas, the main character from the novel and film ''

The Maze Runner ''The Maze Runner'' is a 2009 young adult dystopian science fiction novel written by American author James Dashner and the first book released in ''The Maze Runner'' series. The novel was published on October 6, 2009, by Delacorte Press, an i ...

References

{{Reflist Given names English-language masculine given names English masculine given names Irish masculine given names Scottish masculine given names French masculine given names German masculine given names Dutch masculine given names Norwegian masculine given names Swedish masculine given names Danish masculine given names Hebrew masculine given names Masculine given names