Thomas
Feminine · “twin”
Thomas is given to boys far more often — 2,358,576 boys against 8,511 girls since 1880. See Thomas as a boy name
In 1945 two Egyptian farmers digging for fertilizer near Nag Hammadi found a sealed jar with thirteen leather-bound books in it. One of them was a collection of a hundred and fourteen sayings attributed to Jesus, with no story around them at all, and it is called the Gospel of Thomas.
How old is the name Thomas?
Thomas was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Thomas alive today was born around 1956, making them about 69 years old. About 5,500 people named Thomas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Thomas most popular?
Thomas peaked in 1881, reaching #503 nationally. Today it ranks #11932, 11,429 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From te'oma to Thomas
The story of Thomas
The Nag Hammadi find changed the study of early Christianity. The Thomas text has no narrative, no crucifixion and no resurrection — only sayings, about half of which have parallels in the familiar Gospels and half of which do not — and scholars have argued ever since about whether it preserves early material or reworks it. Separately, and much older than any of that argument, there is a church in India that has always said Thomas came there. The Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala trace their community to a mission in the year 52, which would make it older than most European Christianity, and they have their own liturgy, their own history and a continuous existence of many centuries whatever the founding date.
Meaning
twin
Aramaic te'oma, a twin. The Gospel of John glosses it with the Greek word for the same thing, Didymos, which is how the meaning is known with certainty rather than reconstructed. Nobody records whose twin he was.
How the name formed
- te'oma
- Thomas
Related forms: Tomas · Tommaso · Thomas · Tomas · Foma · Tamas
Pronouncing Thomas
TOM-us
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the th said as a plain t. French says it the same way; Spanish moves the weight to the second, to-MAS. The h has been silent in English for centuries.
Nicknames for Thomas
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1971131 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #503reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- −30.0%7 in 2025, from 10
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Thomas in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Tomas in Spanish — same name
- Tommaso in Italian — same name
- Thomas in French — same name
- Tomas in Irish — same name
- Foma in Russian — same name
- Tamas in Hungarian — same name
Thomass among us
people named Thomas are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 229,610 born in 2025 was named Thomas
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Thomas sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Thomas beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Thomas in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A meaning the source text states outright rather than leaving to be reconstructed.
- The same or nearly the same spelling in French, Spanish, Irish, Portuguese and German.
- Three short forms, one of which is a full name in its own right.
- Continuous documented use for two thousand years.
- It is one of the most given names in the English-speaking world and has been for centuries.
- Tom is what most people will use, so it is worth liking the short form.
- The phrase about doubting will be made at some point, usually as a joke.
- The very few girls given this spelling will be read as boys on every form.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Thomas to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Thomas? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Thomas
Feminine · #11932 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Thomass are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,500 people named Thomas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Thomas in 2025?
- Thomas ranks #11932 among US girl names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Thomas?
- About 1 in every 229,610 US girls born in 2025 was named Thomas — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Thomas with classmates?
- Thomas will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Thomas
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vina#11932 · Retta#11932 · Missouri#11932 · Iola#11932 · Eddie#11932 · Louetta#11932 · Elvina#11932 · Gracia#11932
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Thomas? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Thomas and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle