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Our Surnames T-U-V
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TAILFORD,
TALEFORD, TALEFORT, TELFAIR, TELFER, TELFORD. Nickname for a mighty warrior,
from Old French taille fer, “Iron
cleaver”, presumably for hacking through some poor opponent’s armour. The
name crops up in various early references in the 12th and 13th
C. The great civil engineer, Thomas Telford (1757 – 1834), was born, the son
of a shepherd, in Bentpath, Eskdale, Scotland. (Grid
Ref: NY310902) – a bit outside the North Pennines but well within our
catchment area!
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TAIT.
From the Old Norse teitr, “cheerful”. TEYTE is a variant, TATE (q.v.) is
not, so “They” say!
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TALLENTIRE.
From the place-name in Cumberland, three miles N of Cockermouth (Landranger
Sheet 89, NY 108353). The place-name means “land’s end” and the village
lies at the end of a long spur of the Cumbrian Hills, with views over the Solway
Firth. The Manor of Tallentire was granted by Waltheof, son of Gospatrick, to
Odard, son of Lynulph, whose descendants assumed the local name of TALLENTIRE,
holding the Manor for many years - it later came into the possession of the
FLETCHERs of Cockermouth, by marriage to the PARTES family, and eventually
purchased by Henry Hopper. Various spellings have been TALGHENTIR in 1208,
TALLENTIR in 1211, TARANTIER in 1213, TALENTYRE in 1293, TALENTER in 1302 and
TALENTY in 1307. By the 16th C. the TALLENTIREs had emerged in Dacre (1561) and
Dalston - Lancelot TALLENTIRE married Elizabeth LOWTHER in 1585. By the 17th C.
the TALLENTIREs had emerged in Auckland where there are many births and
marriages recorded at St Andrew's Church. Richard TALLENTIRE of Teesdale who was
buried at Middleton Church in 1740 was the first to move into Teesdale and has
descendants all over the world.
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TAMS. Tam is a
Scottish pet-form for Thomas, so TAMS and TAMSON are probable derivatives. A
Margaret TAMSONE was cited for “charming” in Elgin in 1664.
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TARN.
The “books” say a dweller by the tarn. However there is also good evidence
that this may also be derived from Polish / German miners from Tarnow in Galicia,
who came to the Mines Royal at Crosthwaite in Cumberland to mine copper during
the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
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TASEY, TEAZER, TYSEY. Manuel TEAZER appears in 1851 census at Harlowhill,
Ovingham born Wigan, Lancs. He is almost certainly the same person as
Emanuel TYSEY in 1841 census in Standish, Wigan with a different wife &
family. In other censuses he is given as TEASY, TEASDALE, CASEY (1881)
with numerous other spellings on children's birth, death & marriage
certificates. He
was probably born about 1807. One possibility is that this much re-transcribed
name is from the occupation of wool-comber, c.f. the teasel plant whose seed
heads were traditionally used for the purpose. However, the earliest spelling on
record is TYSEY which casts some doubt on this explanation. Another option is
that it may be related to the villages of Upper Middle and Low Tysoe (Tiw’s hoh
or hill) in Warwickshire. (Grid Ref. SP340440). The hill once boasted an incised
Red Horse, now lost, but believed by some to have been dedicated to the Norse
God Tiw (as in Tuesday) http://www.whitedragon.org.uk/articles/redhorse.htm
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TATE. (ONS). Tāta
is a notable Old to Middle English given name, incorporated in to place-names
from Lancashire (Tatham) to Somerset (Tatworth). It is fair to believe that TATE
is the direct modern equivalent. TAIT is thought to have a different derivation,
q.v. Two of the TATEs on our research list were “Dancing Masters”, a
position having some of the advantages of a present day Tennis Coach. It may be
significant that one of them died a rich man… or perhaps he just inherited his
money from his wife, Mary RODDAM!
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TATTERS. No data yet available.
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TAYLOR A tailor.
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TEASDALE, TEESDALE. This is the commonest of the names deriving from the North
Pennine rivers. Why the spelling changed, is anyone’s guess! Names like Wardle
(Weardale), TINDALE (Tynedale) and TWEDDLE (Tweeddale) also exist.
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TEBB. No data yet available.
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TELFAIR, TELFER, TELFORD. See TAILFORD
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TEMPERLEY.
From the place-name, Timperley, in Cheshire / Greater Manchester. (Grid
Ref:SJ788889)
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TERRY.
Generally from THEODORE, an Old English and Old German name meaning
“people-rule”
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THIRLWELL. No data yet available.
THOMSON, THOMPSON.
Son of Tom or Thomas, not surprisingly. It is said that the silent “p” is an
English characteristic; sons of Scottish Toms are THOMSONs. Thomas as a given
name is very rare before the Conquest but becomes one of the most popular soon
afterwards. It is derived from an Aramaic word fro “twin”.
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THORBURN.
Thor’s warrior or Thor’s bear. The name has been around since before the
Conquest.
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THORNBARROW. From the place-name, Thornborough or -bury. There are a few to
choose from, three within our likely catchment area: Landranger Sheet 99 SE
293798 + another in W. Yorkshire and one in Northumberland, (NZ0064)
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THORNTON. From one of the many places of this name.
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THWAITES. A dweller near a meadow. Given the number of Thwaite place names, this
does not narrow the field much, I’m afraid.
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TIERNEY.
Best guess is that is from Tournai in Calvados; there was a Goisfridus TORNAI in
Domesday book.
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TIFFIN.
“Manifestation of God”, from the Greek, and another name for the Epiphany.
TIFFANY is still a popular girls’ given name for one born on that day.
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TILLY. Three possible sources. First, a Norman import from a place of that name
in Calvados or Eure. Second a ploughman or similar, the verb “to till”
having Old and Middle English currency. Third, a matronymic descending from a
lady named Matilda.
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TODD. From the Middle English tod(de),
“fox”, so we must assume it’s a nickname. We have examples where TODD and
DODD have been mistranscribed, so check carefully!
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TONES. Probably a variant of TOWNES, which is a pretty non-specific town- (or
tun-) dweller.
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TRAINOR. Not a trainer, but a trapper or layer of snares, form the Middle
English trayne.
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TRATHAN,
TRATHEN. The name sounds Cornish and has definite mining connections. TRATHENs
arrived in Nenthead in 1796 from Anglesey where they had worked at the Parys
Mine (Copper). Variants include TRAYTHEN, TRAHERN and TRATHERN.
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TRELOAR. From the
place-name in Kent (TR0728). Another mining link perhaps?
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TROTTER.
From the Old French trotier, a
messenger who presumably delivered on foot and at speed! TROTTER is recorded in
Berwickshire and Edinburgh in 14c but not attached to any clan.
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TROWLOP. Probably the same as TROLLOP(E), from Trolhop, the old name of the
Northumberland village now known as Troughburn. The old name means Troll-valley.
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TROY. Said to be from Troyes in the Département of Aube. Our TROYs travelled by
the scenic route, since John TROY came from Ireland, via Glasgow to Gateshead in
the 1860s. (see SILK).
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TRUSCOTT. From Trescott in Staffordshire. (SO8497)
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TULIP. From the flower, perhaps?
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TUNSTALL. From the place-name. There are a few to choose from, in E & N
Yorkshire. (SE2195 & TA3031)
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TURBETT, TURBUTT. A personal name which seems to have arrived with the Normans,
as there are few pre-Conquest examples, but plenty in Doomsday.
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TURNBULL. Sometimes rendered as a formidable character, capable of wrestling a
bull to the ground! The legend may be further embellished to refer to a knight
who saved Robert the Bruce from being gored. However, current research suggests
that such legends arise from the name and not vice versa, although more
prosaically it could be derived from a drover. Alternatively, and with a bit of
Saxon mispronunciation, it may be derived from TREMBLÉ / TREMBLAY. Norman lords
of Tremblay and Somerville (neighbouring towns in France) were granted lands
from Yorkshire to Roxburghshire. A Robert de Tremblay was recorded in Fife in
the late 13th Century. Some overlap with TRUMBLE and TRUMBALL is possible.
TURNBULLs are found both sides of the Border and the name is included amongst
the Reiver clans. (See Reivers Names)
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TURNER. Most probably one who turned objects on a lathe but possibly, and more
humbly, a turnspit.
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TWENTYMAN. The boss of a labouring gang organised on semi-military lines. Late
13th C – building of Welsh castles, perhaps?
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TYSEY. See TAYSEY.
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U
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UNTHANK.
Villages and hamlets called Unthank are dotted throughout our region and no
further south than N Yorkshire. The name comes from Old English unthances
meaning “without leave” and refers to the existence of a squatters’
farm. The earliest reference is 1200. (map)
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Three Cumbrian examples are in the area known as Inglewood Forest (The English
Wood) There’s a whole area for research in this one name!
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URWIN. See ERWIN.
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USHER, USSHER. Literally a door-keeper, so a name which may have arisen in
various places. However, the most notable family of the name derive from the de
NEVIL(LE)s (q.v.) Who held the important position of Usher to the Court under
the Norman and Plantagenet Kings, controlling who had access to the Sovereign.
Tradition has it that a concealed pocket on the shoulder of the Usher’s cloak
was ready to receive donations from grateful petitioners, hence the expression
“A pat on the back”. At various times, family members preferred USHER to
NEVIL as their surname, not least when the luck of Richard NEVILLE, Earl of
Warwick (a.k.a. “The Kingmaker”) finally ran out and he died at the Battle
Of Barnet in 1471. USHERs – various spellings – thrived in all parts of the
nation, including Ireland where several were notable clerics and scholars.
Archbishop James USSHER, in around 1650, calculated the age of the Earth from
Biblical sources, and declared it had been created in 4004 B.C. (Don’t knock
it! It was 120 years before anyone came up with a (barely) better estimate and
300 before the currently accepted value of 4550000000 years was derived.) USHER
is the same as USHAW, which crops up in place-names in Co. Durham, e.g. Ushaw
Moor (Landranger Sheet 88, Grid Ref. NZ229427)
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(ONS)
usher@onename.org
(Ms Jemma Ussher, whose book “A MUSTER OF USHERS” is a definitive
history of the family)
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VARTY,
VERTY, VIRTY. Probably all variants of VERITY, meaning truth. What is not clear,
is how this came to be a surname: possibly from a notably truthful person, or
from a character in a pageant or Mystery Play.
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VEPON. Probably the same as VIPOND (q.v.)
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VERRILL. Perhaps derived from the old name of St Alban’s, Hertfordshire, which
is Verulamium.
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VERTY, see VARTY
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VICARS, VICKERS. The Vicar’s servant or, in the days before celibacy was
imposed, the Vicar’s son. While men-of-the-cloth were a minority, their
followers were comparatively well-fed which may account for the surname becoming
so widespread. We have miners and blacksmiths called VICKERS in Allendale in the
18th C.
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VINTON. No data yet available.
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VIPOND, VEPON. The VIPONDs take their name from the Lords of the Manor of Alston
from the beginning of the 13th C to the mid 15thC . Ivo de
Veteriponte received Alston from William the Lion of Scotland in or before1209,
and had it confirmed by King John of England on 10th May 1209. For
the record, Ivo’s brother in law was Hugh de MORVILLE, one of the knights who
killed Thomas a Becket.
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By the mid 15th C., the name had evolved to VIPONT, and the
inheritance had been split up and passed to the female line.
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The origin of the name, which means Old Bridge, is a village in the Calvados
region of Normandy.
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While it is attractive to believe that the present day VIPONDs are Ivo’s
descendants, one needs to bear in mind that it was not uncommon also for members
of a lord’s household to adopt his name.
(See Ref 2)
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VIRTY, See VARTY
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VITTY. See WITHY
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