Tomas

Tomás is the Spanish and Portuguese form of Thomas (although it is also used among the Scandinavians and Irish without the accent mark over the “a”, or in the Czechoslovakian form of Tomáš). The name Thomas comes from the New Testament, borne by one of Jesus’ 12 apostles, and one to whom Christ appeared after his resurrection. “Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came…But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’” [John 20:24]. Eight days later Jesus appeared directly to Thomas himself; this time, Thomas believed. However, he was henceforth referred to as “Doubting Thomas” since he had to be convinced in Jesus’ resurrection. Who can blame the guy? It was this “doubting” quality that humanized the Biblical character and popularized the name in Christendom. Thomas comes from the Greek “Didymus” (from the Aramaic Ta’oma) which means “twin”. Thomas was mainly used by priests until Western Europeans were exposed to it during the Crusades. Since the Middle Ages Thomas has been a perennial favorite among Europeans of all ethnic persuasions. Tomás is quite popular in the South American countries of Argentina, Brazil and Chile; but it is also used with consistency in Catalonia, Spain and Portugal. You’ll also find this name popular in the Slavic nations of Czech Republic and Slovakia; as well as moderately popular in Nordic countries (Iceland, Norway, Sweden). What’s most surprising to us is that the Irish use Tomas (without the “h”) rather than the traditionally spelled English Thomas. Tomas is definitely a multi-cultural spelling!