Tomasi Surname in Italy

Tomasi is a patronymic surname formed from the medieval personal name Thomasus, that is, Tommaso. The name ultimately comes from Hebrew and means “twin”; in the Christian tradition it became widespread through Saint Thomas the Apostle and Saint Thomas Aquinas. Like many surnames derived from Tommaso, it developed through dialectal changes and affectionate or shortened forms, giving rise to a closely related family of variants: Tomasi, Tommasi, Tomassi, Tomassetti and Tomasso.

Early records show the surname already in use in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: a Tomasi of Airola appears in a 1267 diploma of Charles I of Anjou; a 1373 act mentions a Thomasij Busco; in 1447, at Gubbio, Piermathey Tomassi is recorded; and in 1476 a son of Thomasi from the Porta Vercellina is named in Milan. These attestations point to an established presence of the surname in central and northern Italy by a relatively early date.

Geographically, Tomasi is now widespread especially in northern Italy, with additional historic branches in Sardinia, Salento and southern Sicily. Its core origin remains the personal name Tommaso, from which the whole surname cluster descends.