Thomas (name)

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This article is about the name Thomas. For surname, see Thomas (surname).
Thomas
Gender Male
Origin
Word/Name Aramaic
Meaning Twin
Other names
Related names Tom, Tŏmas, Tomas, Tomasz, Tommy, Tomo, Tomislav
Look up Thomas in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Thomas is a masculine given name. It is based on the Biblical Greek Θωμᾶς, which is itself a transcription of the Aramaic te'oma תאומא "twin", the Hebrew cognate being tə'ōm תאום.[citation needed]

"Tom" or "Thom" are abbreviations of Thomas, and "Tommy" is a common variant; "Tam" is a common abbreviation used in Scotland. Abbreviated written forms are "Thos" and "Th".

Feminine versions of this name are Thomasina, Tamsyn, Tamsin, Tasmina, Tasmino, Thomaida/Thomais, or Tammy.

Contents

History [edit]

Like Petros (Cephas) "the rock", Didymos or Thomas "the twin" is not in origin a given name but an epithet of a New Testament character. The given name of Thomas the Apostle was Yehuda (Jude, Judas).

In the New Testament the designation was applied to Judas Thomas, the second Judas of the Apostles (hence his appellation "twin").[1]

Use as a given name originates in the Early Middle Ages. Early known bearers of this name are Thomas the Presbyter (7th century) and Thomas the Slav (8th century).

The name becomes more common during the High Middle Ages, with notable bearers including Thomas of Bayeux (d. 1100), Thomas of Britain (12th century), Thomas the Archdeacon (1200–1268), and Thomas Aquinas (1225–1270).

Variants [edit]

The Biblical Θωμᾶς has given rise to a large variety of spellings and forms in numerous languages.

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, Oxford Dictionary of First Names, Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1, p.260.
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