Why was Thomas becket called Thomas a becket?
Thomas Becket was not called Thomas à Becket during his own
lifetime. He was called Thomas à Becket, by people who wrote about
him much later, possibly in imitation of the name Thomas à Kempis,
who was another medieval monk. Also Thomas Becket was commonly
known as "Thomas à Becket", although this form seems not to have
been contemporaneous, but a post-Reformation adornment, possibly in
imitation ofThomas à Kempis.