Toma History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Czech
Germany
Italy

Bavaria, Germany is the ancestral home of the Toma family. The Toma surname evolved as a local name. It is a name for a family that lived in Bavaria.

Early Origins of the Toma family

The surname Toma was first found in Bavaria, where this surname surfaced in mediaeval times as one of the notable families of the region. From the 13th century onwards the name was associated with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation.

Early History of the Toma family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Toma research. Another 134 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1635, 1644, 1655, 1663, 1669, 1670, 1704, 1709, 1721, 1728, 1746, 1775 and 1776 are included under the topic Early Toma History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Toma Spelling Variations

In the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Toma include Thoma, Thoman, Thom, Thoms, Toma, Thomas, Tomas, Thomasius, Thoeman, Thome, Thomen, Thomme, Thomm, Demel, Dehmel and many more.

Early Notables of the Toma family

Prominent among members of the name Toma in this period include Frederic Count de Thoms (1669-1746), a German art collector; Peter Lorenz Thomas von Langenhardt (mid 17th century), Secretary of the Johannite Order of knights at Sonnenburg; Christian Thomas (1655-1728, known as Thomasius)...
Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Toma Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Toma migration to the United States +

Thousands of German settlers came to North America between the mid-17th and mid-20th centuries. The hardships of the long voyage were balanced by the opportunity to escape poverty and religious persecution. The descendents of these settlers still populate the states of Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California. Many also live in Ontario and the prairie provinces of Canada. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Toma or a variant listed above:

Toma Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Dierich Toma, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1736
Frederick Toma, who arrived in Philadelphia sometime between 1787 and 1788
Frederick Toma, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1788 1

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)