THOME
Origin and etymology
The surname Thome is of German provenance and is ultimately derived from the personal name Thomas. The name Thomas itself is a Latinisation of the Aramaic word toma, which translates as “twin”. The adoption of Thome as a family name was, in the early medieval period, linked to individuals bearing the given name Thomas; it is often regarded as a patronymic form rather than strictly occupational. The original Th sound in German is sometimes softened to a T, accounting for the variation from Thomas to Thome.
Historical attestations
The earliest known legitimate recording of the name appears in 1252 when Henneko Thom is listed as a Burgess of Hamburg, Germany. Subsequent medieval rolls provide further examples: in 1293 Richard Thome of York, England; in 1301 Walter Thomas of Warwickshire, recorded in the Hundred Rolls; and in 1327 Dieter Thumm of Wolfschlugen, Germany. The name also survived the early modern period; for instance, Christopher Thomas was among the first emigrants listed aboard the ship Plaine Joan from London to Virginia in May 1635 during the reign of King Charles I.
Geographical distribution
In Germany the surname is most prevalent in the states of North Rhine‑Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bavaria, and is also widely found in several Swiss cantons including Basel‑Stadt, Basel‑Landschaft, Zürich, Schwyz and Lucerne. Smaller concentrations exist in Austria, Luxembourg and the United States. Within the United States the name is most common in California, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, reflecting patterns of German, Swiss‑German and Austrian immigration between the mid‑nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Spelling variation
The surname Thome has been recorded in over two hundred distinct forms. These include the British spellings Tomas and Thomas, the Italian Tommasi and Toma, the German Thom, Thoma and Thumm, the Slavonic Tomaschek, the Russian Fominov, the Belorussian Tomich and Khomich, the Swedish Thomasson and numerous others. Variants in other European languages include Thomme or Thommé in French, Thum in Germanic languages and Tom in Scandinavian tongues. In non‑European contexts versions such as Toum have appeared in Chinese records, while in Spanish and Portuguese the name is rendered Tomás or Tomé. Close relatives to the surname include Tomasiewicz, Thomassek, Tunneman and Tomovic, all of which share the same archetypal meaning of “twin”.
Modern prevalence and legacy
Today the surname Thome remains located mainly in German‑speaking countries and regions of German influence. Its presence in the United States, in particular, continues to reflect a sustained legacy of German and Swiss‑German immigrants who undertook the transatlantic journey in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The variety of documented spellings across cultures, while indicating localisation, nonetheless preserves a common ancestral thread that can be traced back to the ancient Aramaic concept of twinhood and the Christian tradition surrounding the apostle St. Thomas.
Typical given names associated with the Thome surname
Male
Female
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Thome in...
Braille
⠞⠓⠕⠍⠑
Morse
-....-----.
Semaphore
There are approximately 22 people named Thome in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Fewer than one in a million people in Britain are named Thome.
