Tamás

The name Tamás comes from a Hebrew and Aramaic root that means twin. Behind it stands the biblical apostle whom the Greek New Testament nicknamed Didymos, the Greek word for the same idea. In Poland the name arrives already dressed in Hungarian clothes, since Tamás is the Magyar form of Thomas, cousin to the Polish Tomasz. The short meaning stays fixed across all of them: twin, `bliźniak`.

That twin was, in the Gospel story, the doubter who wanted to touch a wound before he believed. The sense of stubborn honesty attached itself to the name later, once the apostle's story spread. The idea of the twin is older, and more literal.

A Tamás in Wrocław might spell his name twice at the urząd. Clerks reach for Tomasz by reflex. The accent on the á tells you the bearer, or a parent of his, kept a Hungarian thread alive.

His name day falls on 21 December, the older feast of Saint Thomas, four days before the winter holiday. The meaning underneath it all is simple and physical. Tamás means twin.