SHELLEY THOMAS

Transferred use of the surname, the most famous bearer of which was the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822). The surname is in origin a local name from one of the various places (in Essex, Suffolk, and Yorkshire) named in Old English as the ‘wood (or clearing) on (or near) a slope (or ledge)’. The name is now used almost exclusively for girls, in part perhaps as a result of association with Shirley (the actress Shelley Winters, 1922–2005, was born Shirley Schrift), and in part due to the characteristically feminine ending -(e)y.

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.