Where did the Toma family come from?
The Toma surname come ulitmately from the Medieval personal name "Thomas," which is of Biblical origin, from the Aramaic "t’om’a," which meant "twin." Predating surnames, this name was popular throughout Europe due to its being borne by one of the disciples of Christ.
Many cultural groups lived in the German states in medieval times. Each had its own dialect and traditions, and unique variations of popular names. Low German, which is similar to contemporary Dutch, was spoken in Westphalia. German names are characterized by additions such as regional suffixes and phrases that tell something about the origin or background of its original bearer. Further contributing to the variation in German names was the fact that there were no spelling rules in medieval times: scribes recorded names according to their sound. The recorded spelling variations of Toma include Thoma, Thoman, Thom, Thoms, Toma, Thomas, Tomas, Thomasius, Thoeman, Thome, Thomen, Thomme, Thomm, Demel, Dehmel and many more.
First found in Bavaria Germany, where this surname surfaced in mediaeval times as one of the notable families of the region.