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    The surnameThomas

    A Latin patronymic surname, the 16th most common in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈtɑ.məs/ 2 syllables Soundex T520 Also a first name

    Thomas: #16 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Thomas #16, 756,142 people Thomas: #16 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#1,000Archer Thomas #16, 756,142 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Thomas is more common than 99.9% of them.

    Origin

    Latin origin

    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.

    Thomas is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    One of 91 Latin surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 756,142 people named Thomas in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 408 Americans. That is up 6.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 710,696.

    #16
    rank among US surnames
    756,142
    people in 2010
    256
    per 100,000 Americans
    +6.4%
    change since 2000 (was #14)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #7Miller1,161,437266
    #8Davis1,116,357277
    #9Rodriguez1,094,924282
    #10Martinez1,060,159291
    #11Hernandez1,043,281296
    #12López874,523353
    #13Gonzalez841,025367

    Who is named Thomas

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    53% of people named Thomas identified as white (not Hispanic), 39% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as two or more races.

    • White (not Hispanic) 53%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 39%
    • Two or more races 2.6%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 2.4%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 1.1%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Thomass

    186 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • E. Donnall Thomas
      American hematologist (1920-2012)
    • Clarence Thomas
      Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991
    • Isiah Thomas
      American basketball player, coach, executive, born 1961
    • Helen Thomas
      American author and journalist, 1920–2013
    • Linda Thomas-Greenfield
      American diplomat (born 1952)
    • Rob Thomas
      American singer (born 1972)
    • Gabby Thomas
      American track-and-field athlete (1996-)
    • B. J. Thomas
      American singer (1942-2021)
    • Leon Thomas III
      American actor, singer, songwriter and producer, born 1993
    • Isaiah Thomas
      American basketball player (born 1989)
    • Donald Thomas
      Bahama athletics competitor, born 1984
    • Jonathan Taylor Thomas
      American actor, born 1981

    Notable Thomass come mostly from the United States (153), the United Kingdom (16) and Australia (7).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Thomas

    Thomas has the Soundex code T520, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code T520.

    Other Latin surnames

    All 91 Latin surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Thomas come from?
    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…
    How common is the surname Thomas?
    756,142 people in the United States had the surname Thomas in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 408 Americans. It ranked 16th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Thomas?
    In the 2010 Census, 53% of people named Thomas identified as white (not Hispanic), and 39% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Thomas?
    E. Donnall Thomas, American hematologist (1920-2012), followed by Clarence Thomas.