MEANING & HISTORY
What does Thomas mean?
Thomas comes through Greek and Latin from an Aramaic word meaning twin. The apostle’s name is also translated as Didymus, twin in Greek, in the Gospel of John.
This makes the root unusually clear despite the different language forms. Thomas and Tomas share that ancestry. The biblical story of doubt is a later character association rather than the literal meaning of Thomas.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Tagalog
- /ˈtomas/Standard-Tagalog
- [ˈt̪oː.mɐs]Standard-Tagalog
Tho · mas2 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗English
- /ˈtɒm.əs/UK
- /ˈtɑ.məs/US
- /ˈt̪ʰɔː.mɐs/South-Asia
- /ˈʈʰɔː.mɐs/South-Asia
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
TagalogEtymology & source
Borrowed from English Thomas, from Middle English Thomas, from Latin Thōmās m, from Ancient Greek Θωμᾶς m (Thōmâs), the Biblical Greek transcription of Aramaic תאומא or תאמא (“twin”), the nickname of one of the Twelve Apostles. Doublet of Tomas.
a male given name from English
Wiktionary: Thomas (Tagalog) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
Inherited from Middle English Thomas, from Latin Thōmās m (as in the Vulgate), from Ancient Greek Θωμᾶς m (Thōmâs), the Biblical Greek transcription of Aramaic תאומא or תאמא (“twin”), the nickname of one of the Twelve Apostles. In the gospel of John (11:16, 20:24), the Aramaic nickname is also translated into Greek, as δίδυμος m (dídumos). Used as a given name since the Middle Ages, e.g. Thomas the Presbyter (7th century), Thomas the Slav (8th century), Thomas of Bayeux (died 1100). (infidel or doubter): In reference to the doubting Apostle.
A male given name from Aramaic of biblical origin, popular since the 13th century.
Wiktionary: Thomas (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Thomas
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Bailey May
Filipino-British singer, actor and model
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Thomas Fonacier
Filipino historian
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
13
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
4
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Thomas Fonacier, Bailey May
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Thomas in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Related forms & spellings
Related forms may have their own language histories. They are not included in this spelling’s PSA count.
Similar names to Thomas
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Tomas♂Twin
- Tomás♂Twin; from Aramaic through Thomas
- Dimas·Sunset or west, through Dismas
- Thea♀Short form of Dorothea or Theodora
- Thelma♀Literary name associated with Greek will
- Theresa♀From Teresa, earlier recorded as Therasia
- Therese♀German and Scandinavian form of Theresa
- Lagrimas♀Tears; related to Spanish lágrimas
What rhymes with Thomas?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Recorded combinations with Thomas
3 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
- Ferdinanad Thomas·Source record
- Thomas Claudio·Thomas: twin; Claudio: form of the roman family name claudius
- Thomas Mark·Thomas: twin; Mark: from marcus, traditionally connected with mars
Explore Thomas further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q16428906 — Thomas (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Thomas Fonacier (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q16428906 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Bailey May (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q16428906 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Thomas (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Thomas (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary: Thomas (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.