Thomas Bell

(male) New Testament name, borne by one of Christ's twelve apostles, referred to as ‘Thomas, called Didymus’ (John 11:16; 20:24). Didymos is the Greek word for ‘twin’, and the name is the Greek form of an Aramaic byname meaning ‘twin’. The given name has always been popular throughout Christendom, in part because St Thomas's doubts have made him seem a very human character.

1. Scottish and northern English: from Middle English belle ‘bell’, in various applications; most probably a metonymic occupational name for a bell ringer or bell maker, or a topographic name for someone living ‘at the bell’ (as attested by 14th-century forms such as John atte Belle). This indicates either residence by an actual bell (e.g. a town's bell in a bell tower, centrally placed to summon meetings, sound the alarm, etc.) or ‘at the sign of the bell’, i.e. a house or inn sign (although surnames derived from house and inn signs are rare in Scots and English).