Tom

Tom is the familiar form of Thomas, whose older Aramaic source means twin. Thomas became widely established through the New Testament apostle, where the Greek name Didymus also conveys the idea of a twin. Tom keeps that history in a much shorter everyday form.

The name has a strong literary presence through Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and countless later fictional characters. It is also familiar through actors such as Tom Hanks, whose formal name is Thomas. Tom can be recorded independently or used at home for a child named Thomas, and those are separate naming choices. Tommy offers a further familiar form. The meaning belongs to the older Thomas family rather than to the ordinary English word tom for a male animal.