# Thomas (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/thomas/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Aramaic |
| Meaning | “twin” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈtɑ.məs/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Tommy, Tom |
| Variant spellings | Thomasine, Thomasin |
| US babies named this | 2,367,087 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 2,358,576 / 8,511 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 162,238, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

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.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 11 | 10,405 |
| 2011 | 10 | 11,129 |
| 2012 | 10 | 11,191 |
| 2013 | 8 | 13,049 |
| 2014 | 6 | 16,352 |
| 2015 | 10 | 10,805 |
| 2016 | 10 | 10,792 |
| 2017 | 11 | 9,879 |
| 2018 | 7 | 13,683 |
| 2020 | 8 | 12,053 |
| 2021 | 5 | 17,455 |
| 2022 | 10 | 10,331 |
| 2023 | 7 | 13,333 |
| 2024 | 5 | 17,473 |
| 2025 | 7 | 13,075 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 6,929 | 63 |
| 2012 | 6,855 | 63 |
| 2013 | 6,799 | 61 |
| 2014 | 7,043 | 54 |
| 2015 | 7,204 | 51 |
| 2016 | 7,367 | 48 |
| 2017 | 7,187 | 49 |
| 2018 | 6,840 | 49 |
| 2019 | 6,667 | 47 |
| 2020 | 6,452 | 45 |
| 2021 | 6,680 | 46 |
| 2022 | 6,512 | 45 |
| 2023 | 6,625 | 41 |
| 2024 | 6,596 | 39 |
| 2025 | 6,917 | 34 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 5,353 | 6 |
| 2012 | 4,893 | 6 |
| 2013 | 4,591 | 6 |
| 2014 | 4,405 | 6 |
| 2015 | 4,075 | 9 |
| 2016 | 3,898 | 9 |
| 2017 | 3,246 | 13 |
| 2018 | 3,243 | 12 |
| 2019 | 2,957 | 13 |
| 2020 | 2,646 | 15 |
| 2021 | 2,302 | 18 |
| 2022 | 2,101 | 19 |
| 2023 | 1,855 | 19 |
| 2024 | 1,543 | 26 |
| 2025 | 1,344 | 35 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: تُومَا, تُومَا, تُومَاس, تُومَاس
- Armenian: Թովմաս
- Bulgarian: Тома́
- Catalan: Tomàs
- Chinese: 托馬斯 /托马斯
- Czech: Tomáš
- Danish: Thomas
- Dutch: Thomas
- Esperanto: Tomaso
- Estonian: Toomas
- Finnish: Tuomas, Tuomo, Tuomala, Tuomainen
- French: Thomas
- Georgian: თომა, თომას
- German: Thomas
- Greek: Θωμάς, Τόμας
- Hebrew: תּוֹם
- Hindi: थॉमस
- Hungarian: Tamás
- Icelandic: Tómas
- Irish: Tomás

## People named Thomas

- Thomas Edison, American inventor and businessman (1847–1931)
- Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father, U.S. president from 1801 to 1809 (1743–1826)
- Thomas Mann, German novelist and Nobel Prize laureate (1875–1955)
- Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (1588–1679)
- Thomas Paine, American Founding Father, philosopher, and political activist (1737–1809)
- Thomas More, English statesman, lawyer and philosopher (1478–1535)
- Thomas Hardy, English novelist and poet (1840–1928)
- Thomas Henry Huxley, British biologist and comparative anatomist (1825–1895)
- Thomas Robert Malthus, British political economist (1766–1834)
- Thomas Müller, German association football player
- Thomas Young, English polymath (1773-1829)
- Thomas Hunt Morgan, American biologist and professor from Kentucky (1866–1945)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.