Didymus (Twin)

Didymus is the second name of the disciple Thomas — the Greek word means "twin." It marks him at the moment he speaks for the Twelve when Jesus turns back toward Judea after the death of Lazarus.

Surname of Thomas

The name attaches at Bethany, when the disciples are uneasy about returning to a region where the Jews have just tried to stone Jesus: "Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow-disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him" (John 11:16). The double name — Aramaic Thomas, Greek Didymus — is given here as the speaker's identifier; the resolve to follow into danger is what the surname is attached to.