Proper Pronunciation Guide

Thomas

[tɑ məs]

Pronounce the letters “th” as a highly aspirated “t”—
/t/—because the consonant precedes a stressed vowel.
Pronounce the letter “o” as
/ɑ/—like the vowel in the word “stop”—and lengthen it slightly because it is stressed.

	Thomas liked to be called just plain Tom.
	Mr. Thomas went to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands for his vacation.

(proper noun) The first name, or given name, of a man; a last name, or family name; a place name, as in St. Thomas.

Occasionally the letters “th” are pronounced as the consonant /t/—especially with certain proper nouns such as this one as well as Thompson, Theresa, Esther, Thailand, Beethoven, and the River Thames and certain common nouns such as thyme, discotheque, and apartheid.
The name “Thompson” [tɑmp̚p sən] is another last name, or family name, in which not only are the letters “th” pronounced as /t/ but the letter “o” is pronounced as /ɑ/. It also has a stopped “p”—/p̚/—at the end of the first syllable, and the lips must remain open on the final /n/: Tommy Thompson is a former governor of Wisconsin, who then became the Secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush.