The Baby Name Wizard

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Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Thomas!

Comments and insights on the name Thomas: | Edit

My 16 year old brother's name is Thomas. He hates it. He is always getting called "Old Tom" at school (even though he goes by Thomas) cause he shares a name with some of their grandfathers. He plans on using his middle name (Tyler) after he graduates.

Personal experiences with the name Thomas: | Edit

Thomas is a sensible name. Not original, modern, or trendy, but old fashioned and classic. My 65 year old uncle is the sixth generation in my fathers family to carry the name Thomas. It is a strong, solid family name.

My 4 year old nephew is Thomas but goes by Tommy for now. The most common comment my brother and his wife get is, "Well you don't hear that name much anymore!" or "Who is he named after?" My brother is starting to wish he hadn't gone quite so traditional.

Nicknames for Thomas: | Edit

Tom, Tommy, Tom-Tom, Tom cat, Timmy, Cutie, Thomsterina, Thomsternator, Tomi, Tomy, Thom, Tomas, Thomass, TT, TC, Mas,Hippothomamas, Tommy Two Times, Tom Sawyer, Sawyer,

Meanings and history of the name Thomas: | Edit

Thomas, the apostle ("doubting Thomas"), was called "the twin." Some say the name was given because Thomas and Jesus looked much alike. Could be...?

Famous real-life people named Thomas: | Edit

Thomas, Apostle
Saint Thomas of Aquinas, 13th-century Italian priest, theologian, and philosopher
Saint Thomas Becket, 12-century British Archbishop and Catholic mart
Thomas Eakins, American realist painter ("The Gross Clinic")
Thomas Edison, American inventor (electric light bulb)
Thomas Gray, British poet (Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard)
Thomas "Tom" Hanks, American film star
Thomas Hardy, British author (Tess of the D'Urbervilles)
Thomas Hobbes, British political philosopher (Leviathan)
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, Confederate General in the U.S Civil War
Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States and the author of that country's Declaration of Independence from the British empire
Thomas Malory, British author (Le Mort d'Arthur)
Saint Thomas More, British statesman, author, and Catholic martyr
Thomas Paine, British revolutionary and author (The Rights of Man)
Thomas Perry, eighteeenth century Irish violin maker
Thomas "Tom" Petty, American musician
Thomas Pynchon, American novelist
Thomas "Tom" Waits, American musician
Thomas Sowell, American economist
Thomas "Tom" Wolfe, American novelist and essayist (Bonfire of the Vanities)
Thomas Wolfe, American novelist (Look Homeward, Angel)
Thomas "Tom" Kaulitz, guitarist in the popular German band Tokio Hotel
Thomas "Thom" Yorke, lead singer/songwriter of band Radiohead
Thomas "Tom" Fletcher, lead singer/songwriter and guitarist of British band McFLY

Thomas in song, story & screen: | Edit

The title character in the 1995 American film comedy Tommy Boy
Thomas the Tank Engine, the leading character in Reverend W.V. Awdry's children's books and the British and American television adaptations
Tom Sawyer, the boastful, playful hero of Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The lead character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. The term Uncle Tom was later used pejoritively to describe a black man who behaved subserviently toward white people.
A character in the legend of Lady Godiva named Tom gave rise to the term Peeping Tom, still used today to describe a voyeur of unaware person(s), most usually in a sexual context.
tom sawyer is also a song that the band rush sing
Dr. Thomas Wayne, Batman's father (DC comics)
Thomas O'Mallen in the movie Aristocats.