Thomas Loftus

(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.

English (Yorkshire): habitational name from Loftus in Cleveland, Lofthouse in West Yorkshire, or Loftsome in East Yorkshire. All are named from Old Norse lopt ‘loft’, ‘upper storey’ + hús ‘house’, the last being derived from the dative plural form, húsum. Houses built with an upper storey (which was normally used for the storage of produce during the winter) were a considerable rarity among the ordinary people of the Middle Ages.