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Tom

Gender
Boy
Say it
TOM
Origin
Aramaic
UK rank, 2025
#617 for boys
US rank, 2025
#2,183 for boys
Style
Big in Northern Ireland

Tom is a boys' name of Aramaic origin, meaning “twin”. In 2025 it ranked 617th for boys in the UK (68 babies) and 2,183rd for boys in the US (65 babies).

What does Tom mean?

Aramaic: short form of Thomas

“twin”

The traditional short form of Thomas; Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer is a famous literary bearer.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Tom a girl's or a boy's name?

Tom is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 68 boys in the UK and 65 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.

How popular is Tom in the UK?

Rank in 2025
617th among boys
Babies in 2025
68 about 1 in 4,400 boys
Five-year trend
Falling down 41% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 68 boys in the UK were named Tom, making it the 617th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 387th. Its busiest year was 2003, with 707 boys.

2025 had the fewest boys named Tom since the records began in 1996.

Half of all the boys named Tom in the UK since 1996 were born between 2000 and 2011. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

Among boys in 2025, it was 976th in England and Wales, 441st in Scotland and 79th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for boys, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1904 (#63), 1914 (#74), 1994 (#93) and 2004 (#97).

1996Busiest: 707 in 20032025
Tom in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
202568#617
202498#453
2023111#407
202297#462
2021111#428
2020128#387
2019150#343
2018188#296
2017214#276
2016245#248
2015287#223
2014302#213
2013307#206
2012360#188
2011340#185
2010377#167
2009436#149
2008466#138
2007544#121
2006579#114
2005609#109
2004647#101
2003707#91
2002636#96
2001651#94
2000693#92
1999686#89
1998624#96
1997544#108
1996513#106

How popular is Tom in the US?

Rank in 2025
2,183rd among boys
Babies in 2025
65 about 1 in 26,000 boys
Five-year trend
Steady down 23% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 65 boys in the US were named Tom, making it the 2,183rd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,322nd. Its busiest year was 1959, with 5,068 boys.

2025 had more boys named Tom than any year since 2019.

Half of all the boys named Tom in the US since 1880 were born between 1933 and 1960, the years shaded on the chart below.

1880Busiest: 5,068 in 19592025
Tom in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
202565#2,183
202448#2,715
202350#2,613
202260#2,354
202164#2,192
202058#2,322
201987#1,777
201866#2,121
201788#1,746
201670#2,028
201570#2,036
201477#1,883
201382#1,762
201283#1,786
201183#1,754
201080#1,815
200999#1,603
200896#1,620
200794#1,638
2006109#1,427
2005125#1,256
2004107#1,357
2003132#1,140
2002140#1,075
200196#1,341
200099#1,297
1999116#1,128
1998132#1,020
1997125#1,014
1996126#988
1995134#956
1994116#1,026
1993146#880
1992151#858
1991194#724
1990214#691
1989189#716
1988189#684
1987177#682
1986188#652
1985180#653
1984186#624
1983200#604
1982197#616
1981243#538
1980235#562
1979261#523
1978244#527
1977285#480
1976317#438
1975303#463
1974424#372
1973452#363
1972581#316
1971867#256
19701,130#219
19691,214#206
19681,363#185
19671,491#175
19661,850#153
19652,497#127
19643,292#107
19633,698#103
19624,171#98
19614,731#88
19604,894#86
19595,068#82
19584,356#96
19573,354#116
19561,914#161
19551,513#180
19541,388#188
19531,377#184
19521,439#181
19511,522#168
19501,823#145
19492,543#114
19483,429#94
19473,922#87
19463,624#87
19452,893#89
19442,902#87
19432,909#87
19422,875#89
19412,500#88
19402,287#92
19392,028#97
19381,931#106
19371,807#108
19361,695#112
19351,725#110
19341,579#112
19331,425#117
19321,538#116
19311,363#125
19301,336#132
19291,270#134
19281,305#135
19271,269#138
19261,252#138
19251,216#138
19241,097#149
19231,131#144
19221,084#145
19211,092#144
19201,207#131
19191,059#140
19181,104#139
1917981#138
1916971#139
1915869#142
1914735#137
1913573#135
1912538#124
1911365#105
1910428#82
1909340#88
1908340#80
1907313#83
1906298#80
1905317#77
1904318#74
1903295#73
1902312#75
1901291#67
1900469#52
1899288#66
1898337#64
1897298#63
1896339#62
1895335#62
1894343#60
1893349#60
1892381#58
1891318#60
1890347#57
1889379#50
1888416#49
1887329#52
1886383#50
1885361#48
1884394#47
1883386#44
1882390#46
1881349#43
1880399#40

Nicknames for Tom

Names like Tom

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Thomas, William, James, Charles, John, Harry, George, Sam, Jack, Lewis, Joseph, Ralph

Names related to Tom

Tommy, Tomi, Tommi, Toma, Thom, Tomy

More Aramaic names

Martha, Barnaby, Barney, Tabitha, Tomas, Tadeo, Thaddeus, Tomos, Marta, Tommie, Saphira, Tommaso, Barnabas, Talitha, Safira, Tadeusz

Every Aramaic name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Tom: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/tom, updated 20 October 2026.