Thomas

TOM-us; Taw-ma; TO-mas

Aramaic

"twin"

Thomas Origin and Meaning

The name Thomas is a boy's name of Aramaic origin meaning "twin".

A solid classic with plenty of history, Thomas strikes the balance between strength and gentleness. A favorite in the UK, a staple in France, and Australia, and never absent from the US Top 100, Thomas feels like a safe bet and a name that fits into any era.

The Greek form of the Aramaic name Ta’oma, Thomas means "twin." It came about in the Bible because there were too many apostles called Judas, and so, Thomas became the "twin", to reflect his close brotherhood with Jesus.

Known as "Doubting Thomas" due to his initial skepticism of Jesus’s resurrection, he went on to become a martyr, and there was no need to doubt Thomas’s potential as a given name.

Brought into common usage by the Normans, it was then always among the 5 most common English names for boys at any point between the 13th and 19th century.

While it has fallen down the US charts in recent years, it remains a familiar and trusted choice. Given to over 6000 boys every year, it has made a steady climb back into the Top 50.

Across the pond in the UK, both Thomas and Tommy make the Top 30, while Tom, Tommy-Lee and Tommie have made their mark in the Top 1000.

As a well-established classic, Thomas naturally comes with plenty of noteworthy namesakes. "Thomas the Tank Engine" might appeal to you kids, but there’s also the theologian, Sir Thomas Aquinas, the cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson. the philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, and the writer, Thomas Hardy.

More recent namesakes for those who aren’t into history include actors Tom Hardy, Tom Cruise, and Tom Hiddleston, singers Tom Parker and Tom Fletcher, Olympic diver Tom Daley, and Thomas Sanders, of YouTube fame.

A timeless all-rounder, Thomas comes with the intuitive nicknames, Tommy and Tom, which feel sweet for a child but not too cutesy for a grown-up. For more unexpected options, you could try the nature-inspired Moss or Scottish Tam.

Unlikely to go out of style anytime soon, Thomas is a refined but approachable choice. If the popularity does give you pause, however, you could try the surname-inspired Thompson, or an underused classic like Marius, Rufus, or Phinneas.

Alternatively, there is a wealth of interesting variants to ponder, from Italian Tommaso and Scottish Tavish to Croatian Tomo– and for girls, there’s Thomasina, Tomine and Tamsin.

Thomas Rank in US Top 1000

# 39 in the US

Thomas Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 74 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Thomas

• 39 US 2024
• 74 Nameberry 2025
• 8 Canada 2023
• 52 Future 2035
• 19 England 2023
• 21 Scotland 2024
• 14 Ireland 2024
• 14 Australia 2024
• 24 New Zealand 2024
• 85 France 2021
• 165 Germany 2016
• 41 Netherlands 2024
• 35 Italy 2023
• 99 Belgium 2023
• 106 Switzerland 2023
• 54 Austria 2019
• 44 Chile 2021
• 95 Cats 2022

20 Names Similar to Thomas

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Thomas.

• William
• Samuel
• Charles
• Benjamin
• Andrew
• Joseph
• Peter
• Daniel
• Edward
• David
• John
• Patrick
• James
• Nicholas
• Harry
• George
• Matthew
• Adam
• Alexander
• Jacob

Famous People Named Thomas

• (Stephen) Thomas King of Bosnia
• Thomas the Slav Byzantine military commander
• Thomas of Bayeux Archbishop of York
• Thomas a Becket Archbishop of Canterbury
• Thomas Aquinas Italian theologian
• Thomas Wolsey English cardinal under Henry VIII
• Thomas More English author, philosopher and statesman
• Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury
• Thomas Jefferson 3rd U.S. president and Founding Father
• Thomas Paine American Revolutionary patriot
• Thomas McDonagh Irish revolutionary leader and signatory
• Thomas "Tom" Clarke Irish revolutionary leader and signatory
• Thomas Hobbes British philosopher
• Thomas Carmichael Hindman Jr. U.S. Congressman and Civil War general
• Thomas "Tad" Lincoln son of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
• Thomas Alva Edison American inventor
• Thomas Cruise Mapother IV birth name of Tom Cruise, American actor
• Thomas Riley Marshall 28th U.S. Vice President
• Thomas Francis Bayard 30th U.S. Secretary of State
• Thomas Stearns "T.S." Eliot American,British poet
• Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw American television journalist
• Edward Thomas "Tom" Hardy English actor
• Thomas Robert "Tom" Daley English Olympic Diver
• (Christopher) Thomas Howell American actor
• Thomas Andrew "Tom" Felton English actor
• Thomas Playford 33rd Premier of South Australia
• Thomas Erdelyi birth name of Tommy Ramone, Hungarian,American drummer of The Ramones
• Thomas Gregory Jackson birth name of Tommy James, American lead singer of The Shondells
• Thomas Michael "Tom" Fletcher lead singer of English band McFly
• Thomas Carlyle "Tom" Ford American fashion designer
• Thomas Ellis Gibson American actor
• Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks American actor
• Thomas William "Tom" Hiddleston English actor
• Thomas Stanley "Tom" Holland English actor
• Thomas Kretschmann German actor
• Thomas Moore Irish poet
• Thomas Muller German footballer
• Thomas Ian Nicholas American actor/musician
• Thomas Anthony "Tom" Parker singer of British band The Wanted
• Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty American singer,songwriter
• Thomas Rhett American country music singer
• Thomas Ruggles Pynchon American novelist
• Thomas Edward "Tom" Sizemore American actor
• Thomas James "Tommy" Tune American actor, singer, and dancer
• Thomas John Patrick "Tom" Welling American actor
• Thomas Joseph "T.J." Thyne American actor
• Thomas Sadoski American actor
• Thomas Albert Victor aka Tommaso Alberto Vittorio) Prince of Savoy, Duke of Genoa
• Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson English actor
• Thomas "Tommy" Lee (Bass) drummer of American band Mötley Crüe
• Thomas Brodie Sangster, English actor
• Thomas Mario "Tommy" Haas German tennis player
• Thomas Sanders American internet personality
• Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan American country singer
• Thomas Edward "Tommy" John Jr. American baseball pitcher
• Thomas Nathaniel "Tommy" Ivan Canadian ice hockey manager
• Thomas Maldwyn Pryce Welsh racing driver
• Thomas Henry "Tommy" Bolt American golfer
• Thomas P Stafford American astronaut
• Thomas 'Tom' Crean Irish explorer
• Thomas Hollis Smith son of William Smith & Abigail "Nabby" Adams
• Thomas Hardy British poet and novelist
• Thomas Moore British poet
• Thomas Carlyle British essayist
• Thomas Mann German novelist
• Thomas Edward "T.E." Lawrence known as Lawrence of Arabia
• Thomas James "Tom" Ridgewell British YouTube personality known as "TomSka"
• Thomas Patrick "Tom" Cavanagh Canadian actor
• Thomas Boone Quaid (b. 2007) son of American actor Dennis Quaid
• Thomas David Black (b. 2008) son of American actor Jack Black
• Thomas Williams child of Brady and Robyn Williams of TV's "My Five Wives"
• Thomas Colton Padalecki (b. 2012) son of actors Jared and Genevieve Padalecki
• Thomas Boyer "Bo" Bryan (b. 2008) son of country singer Luke Bryan
• Thomas Miles Gaalswyk (b. 2016) son of singer Caitlyn Smith
• Thomas South Moore (b. 2017) son of country music singer Justin Moore
• Carl Thomas "Tom" Keifer Amerian musician and singer for the band Cinderella

The name Thomas in Pop Culture

• "Thomas the Tank Engine " animated series and its main character
• Thomas "Tom" Marvolo Riddle aka Lord Voldemort character in the Harry Potter series
• Thomas Tanner character in Cassandra Clare's "The Infernal Devices"
• Thomas character in Lauren DeStefano's "The Internment Chronicles"
• Thomas Barrow character on TV's "Downton Abbey"
• Thomas ¨Tom¨ Branson , character on TV's "Downton Abbey"
• Thomas "Tom" Tarleton character in Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind"
• Thomas Magnum main character on TV's "Magnum P.I."
• Thomas Wayne character in DC Universe
• Thomas "Tom" Lone character in DC Universe
• Thomas "Tommy" Merlyn character in DC Universe
• Thomas O'Malley cat in Disney' "The AristoCats"
• Thomas J. Sennett character in movie "My Girl"
• Thomas Carver character on TV's "Chasing Life"
• Thomas H. Norstein character in anime "Digimon Data Squad"
• Thomas Tomone character on TV's "Skins"
• Thomas "Tom" Cat character in the Tom and Jerry cartoon series
• Thomas "Tommy" Pickles character in animated series "Rugrats" and "All Grown Up"
• Thomas Lasky main character in Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
• Thomas "Tom" Wade main character in G. A. Henty's, In the Heart of the Rockies
• Thomas character on animated series "Regular Show"
• Thomas main character in book and movie "The Maze Runner"
• Thomas Forrester character in soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful"
• Thomas "Tom" Hagen character in "Godfather"
• Thomas "Tom" Hansen character in "500 Days of Summer"
• Thomas character in the webcomic "Sun Rising"
• Thomas Sharpe character in the movie "Crimson Peak"
• Thomas Bryant character from Marie Lu's Legend series
• Thomas J. Whitmore U.S. President in the 1996 Film "Independence Day" aka ID4 , and was the ex,President in the 2016 sequel "Resurgence"
• Thomas Vanderbilt First President of the United Federation of Planets, in the Star Trek Franchise, according to memory,alpha.fandom.com
• Thomas Light Doctor who appears in the Mega Man video game series, Dr. Light created Mega Man
• Thomas "House" Conklin character in the "Police Academy" Film series
• Thomas Jefferson "T.J." Hooker main character played by William Shatner in the police drama TV series "T.J. Hooker"
• Thomas Veil main character in the TV series "Nowhere Man" which aired from 1995 to 1996 on UPN
• Thomas from No Belonging RPG who's a SUCKER FOR FREEDOM OH MY GOD
• Thomas Lightwood character in Cassandra Clare’s “The Last Hours” series

International Variations of the name Thomas

• Tomas German; Norwegian; Swedish; Lithuanian
• Tomasz Polish