JULIE THOMAS

(French) form of Julia. This was imported to the English-speaking world in the 1920s, and soon became a great favourite. Its popularity was increased in the 1960s by the fame of the British actresses Julie Harris (b. 1925), Julie Andrews (b. 1935 as Julia Wells), Julie Christie (b. 1940), and, more recently, of Julie Waters (b. 1950).

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.