Tom

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ORIGIN AND HISTORY

The name Tom is most often considered a shortened form of Thomas from the Bible. It is sometimes considered a name in its own right, as shown by many famous people who go by the name Tom and not Thomas.

Thomas was one of the twelve apostles and his nickname was 'Doubting Thomas' because he was the apostle who was most critical and pessimistic. He was not, however, looked upon negatively because of this since he also had a very deep faith. Thomas is said to be the middle name of Doubting Thomas, and that his full name was Judas Thomas. Because of Judas Iscariot, he became known as Judas the twin, and later on as just Thomas so as not to be confused with Judas Iscariot. Hence the meaning of the name being 'twin'.

Tom may also be used as a surname. As a surname, Tom may derive from Thomas, or it may be a variation of the Chinese surname Tan, which dates to the Zhou dynasty and means "from the state of Tan."^[1]

POPULARITY

The name Tom is still a very popular one in the U.S. Its popularity has remained steady over the past hundred years, always ranking in near the very top of the baby names for boys. In other English speaking countries the name is also popular, with England and Wales being the place where the name is most popular. Australia comes in right behind England and Wales. ^[1]

FACTS

Tom Joad is a character created by John Steinbeck in his novel 'The Grapes of Wrath'. Tom is one of the main characters in the novel and certainly the one that causes the conditions of life following the Great Depression to hit home hardest. Tom is someone who fights against injustice and the ultimate fighter for the common man fighting against superiors who don't know what it's like to be on the common man's end of things.

The character was taken up again many times in various musical genres. Woody Guthrie, folk singer, wrote 'The Ballad of Tom Joad' and Bruce Springsteen, pop/rock singer, wrote 'The Ghost of Tom Joad', which appeared on his album of the same name.

Tom is also a Hebrew (unisex) name meaning purity. It is pronounced Tohm (long Toh)

NAMESAKES

Characters named Tom from books:

• Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)
• Uncle Tom's Cabin (Harriet Beecher Stowe)
• Tom Joad ('The Grapes of Wrath', John Steinbeck)

Characters named Tom from T.V. . Movies & Music:

• 'Tom's Diner' (Suzanne Vega, 1991)
• 'Ground Control to Major Tom' (David Bowie, 1983)
• Tom & Jerry (cartoon)

FAMOUS PERSONS

• Tom Hanks (actor)
• Tom Cruise (actor)
• Tom Ford (designer)
• Tom Sellek (actor)
• Tom Petty (musician)
• Tom Green (actor)
• Tom Brady (football player)

NOTES

<http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Thomas/> < http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/>

OTHER TOM'S

Tom Smith, Tom Johnson, Tom Williams, Tom Jones, Tom Brown, Tom Davis, Tom Miller, Tom Wilson, Tom Moore, Tom Taylor, Tom Aarstad, Tom Abbas, Tom Abbott, Tom Abbotts, Tom Abell, Tom Aitken, Tom Aj, Tom Albanito, Tom Altam, Tom Arildson, Tom Abare, Tom Abbison, Tom Abdellatf, Tom Abdo, Tom Abdouch, Tom Abdow, Tom Abene, Tom Ahmmed, Tom Aitchison, Tom Aagard, Tom Aamland, Tom Aardema, Tom Aaron, Tom Aarup, Tom Aasa, Tom Aasby, Tom Aasen, Tom Aasgaard, Tom Abalan, Tom Abaldo, Tom Abalos, Tom Abate, Tom Abb, Tom Abbate, Tom Abbatiello, Tom Abbe, Tom Abbey, Tom Abbinante, Tom Abbiss, Tom Abbruzzese, More results

Author: Rachel Hanson