The story behind Bartholomew
From Latin Bartholomaeus, from Ancient Greek Βαρθολομαῖος (Bartholomaîos), from Aramaic בר תלמי (bar tolmai, “son of Talmai; son of Ptolemy”), from בר (bar, “son”) and תלמי (tolmai, “Talmai; Ptolemy”). It has long been unclear whether the Apostle's father was named after the biblical Talmai, king of Geshur, or one of the Greek Ptolemies, as the two originally unrelated names were conflated in Jewish Aramaic. The name's pronunciation was changed to match the spelling; contrast French Barthélemy from the same source.
Pronunciation
US: /bɑɹˈθɑləmju/
Regional pronunciation variants
- UK: /bɑːˈθɒləmjuː/
- UK, archaic: /ˈbɑːtəlmi/
- US, archaic: /bɑɹˈtɑləmi/
Popularity
Bartholomew ranked #3093 in US for 2025.
Source: SSA national baby names
Names Similar to Bartholomew
Bartolomeu
From Old Galician-Portuguese Bartolomeu, from Latin Bartholomaeus, from Ancient Greek Βαρθολομαῖος (Bartholomaîos), from Aramaic בר תלמי (bar Tolmai, “son of Tolmai”).
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends U
- same syllable count
- similar length
Thomasina
From Thomas + -ina.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- same syllable count
- similar length
Baldomero
Borrowed from Spanish Baldomero.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends O
- same syllable count
- similar length
Baldovino
From Latin Balduinus, from Frankish *Baldawin, from Proto-Germanic *Balþawiniz (literally “bold friend”).
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends O
- same syllable count
- similar length
Bartolomej
Derived from Ancient Greek Βαρθολομαῖος (Bartholomaîos).
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends J
- same syllable count
- similar length
Bartoloměj
Inherited from Old Czech Bartoloměj.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends J
- same syllable count
- similar length
Middle Names for Bartholomew
Bartłomiej
Learned borrowing from Latin Bartholomaeus.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends J
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Bertalan
From Ancient Greek Βαρθολομαῖος (Bartholomaîos), from Aramaic בר and תלמי.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Bethany
From Ancient Greek Βηθανία (Bēthanía), from Aramaic בית עניא (beth anya, “house of wretchedness”). This etymology is highly disputed; see Bethany.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends Y
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Sibling Names for Bartholomew
Iamblichus
Borrowed from Koine Greek Ἰάμβλιχος (Iámblikhos), from Aramaic ימלכו (Yamlīḵū). See English Iamblichus above for more.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends S
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Parthalán
From Middle Irish Partholón, from Latin Bartholomaeus, from Ancient Greek Βαρθολομαῖος (Bartholomaîos), from Aramaic בר תלמי (bar tolmai, “son of Talmai; son of Ptolemy”);…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Thomasina
From Thomas + -ina.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 4 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length