THOMAS
The surname Thomas is a patronymic family name derived from the ancient Aramaic personal name Toma, which means “twin”. The name entered the Christian world through the apostle Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, and consequently acquired a strong religious resonance throughout medieval Europe.
In the British Isles the surname is recorded in a variety of spellings, the most common being Thomas and Tomas. Early documentary evidence includes Richard Thome of York (1293) and Walter Thomas of Warwickshire (Hundred Rolls, 1301). These entries illustrate the transition from a personal epithet denoting “son of Thomas” to a hereditary surname.
The Welsh context reflects the name’s integration into Celtic‑speaking societies. In Wales the surname is attached to a Christian population whose language is Welsh, and it is classified as a name “from name of parent”. This aligns with the broader pattern of patronymic formation in Celtic onomastics.
The popularity of the name was heightened after the martyrdom of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170. His death created a cult of veneration that spread the use of Thomas as a given name and, by extension, as a surname throughout England and the wider British realm.
Beyond the British Isles, the root Aramaic element produced over two hundred orthographic variants, including the Italian Tommasi, the German Thom, the Slavic Tomaschek, the Russian Fominov, and the Swedish Thomasson. The diffusion of these forms was accelerated by the Crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries and by subsequent migration, such as the embarkation of Christopher Thomas to the New England colonies in 1635.
In summary, the surname Thomas embodies a synthesis of Aramaic origin, Christian religious influence, and Celtic patronymic tradition. Its enduring prevalence across Europe and the Anglophone world testifies to the historical processes of linguistic adaptation, hagiographic reverence, and migration.
Typical given names associated with the Thomas surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Richard
- Stephen
- William
Female
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Karen
- Margaret
- Mary
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Thomes
- Thoms
- Thom
- Thomson
- Thomerson
- Tomkin
- Tamlyn
- Tamplin
- Tompsett
- Thomlinson
- Tompson
- Taplin
- Thomason
- Tomkinson
- Toms
- Tompkins
- Tomlinson
- Thoma
- Tomas
- Thomae
- Thommes
- Toma
- Tomaz
- Thombs
- Thomases
- Thoman
- Thomann
- Thome
- Tommasi
- Tommaso
- Tomaso
- Tomasi
- Tomes
- Thomai
- Thomasa
- Thoams
- Thames
- Thams
- Themis
- Thiems
- Thimas
- Thoemmes
- Thomaides
- Thomain
- Thomans
- Thomass
- Thomaz
- Thomis
- Thommas
- Thomos
- Thomso
- Thoomas
- Thums
- Toama
- Toams
- Tohma
- Tomase
- Tomasz
- Tomay
- Tommas
- Tomms
- Tuomas
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Thomas in...
Braille
⠞⠓⠕⠍⠁⠎
Morse
-....-----.-...
Semaphore
Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Thomas are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Chocolate Hobnob.
There are approximately 211,347 people named Thomas in the UK. That makes it the 9th most common surname in Britain. Around 3,245 in a million people in Britain are named Thomas.
Surname type: From name of parent
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Wales
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Welsh
Famous people named Thomas
- Emma Thomas - Film producer
- Joe Thomas - Actor
- Dylan Thomas - Welsh poet and writer (1914 to 1953)
- Kristin Scott Thomas - -French actress
- Antonia Thomas - Actress
- Ryan Thomas - Actor
- Gareth Thomas - Welsh rugby union and rugby league football player
- Ashley Thomas - Rapper
- Clarence Thomas - Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Serena Scott Thomas - Actress
- Simon Thomas - Television presenter
- Ray Thomas - Musician (1941 to 2018)
- Marlo Thomas - American actress, producer, and social activist
- Iwan Thomas - Welsh 400m runner
- Adam Thomas - Actor
- Tovino Thomas - Malayalam actor
- Susan Haydn Thomas - Actress (1947 to 2015)
- Geraint Thomas - Welsh racing cyclist
- Rozonda Thomas - American singer, actress
- Rob Thomas - American singer
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.