COLE THOMAS

Transferred use of the surname, itself derived from a medieval given name which may be a reduced form of Nicholas or represent a survival into Middle English of the Old English byname Cola ‘swarthy, coal-black’, from col ‘charcoal’. As a given name, it is associated with the songwriter Cole Porter (1893–1964) and has enjoyed a degree of popularity in recent times.

English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, and South Indian: from the medieval personal name, of Biblical origin, from Aramaic t’ōm’a, a byname meaning ‘twin’. It was borne by one of the disciples of Christ, best known for his scepticism about Christ's resurrection (John 20:24–29). The th- spelling is organic, the initial letter of the name in the Greek New Testament being a theta. The English pronunciation as t rather than th- is the result of French influence from an early date. In Britain the surname is widely distributed throughout the country, but especially common in Wales and Cornwall. The Ukrainian form is Choma. It is found as a personal name among Christians in India, and in the U.S. is used as a family name among families from southern India.