TELFER
Telfer is a surname of primarily Scottish origin, with evidence of links to English, Norse and Gaelic linguistic roots. The name has traditionally been understood as an occupational nickname, signalling a person who worked with iron or steel. It is believed to derive from the Old English word telfere, itself borrowed from the Old Norse tjaldari, meaning “a tent maker” – a craft that required skilful use of iron for the metal fastenings that supported the canvas.
The earliest surviving mention of the name is found in the Register of the Abbey of Arbroath as Willelmus Tailfer in about 1210. A preceding record in Devonshire from the reign of King Henry I cites a person called Dunning Tailifer in 1103. In Scotland a christening recorded in Hamilton, Lanarkshire on 23 May 1683 names George, son of William Telfer and Margaret Murray, demonstrating the surname’s continued usage through the eighteenth century.
Alternative etymological explanations connect Telfer with the French word taillefer, meaning “to cut” or “cleaver”, and with the Latin ferrum for iron. According to this view the name was originally a nickname assigned to a strong man or ferocious warrior who could cleave cleanly through the iron armour of his foes. Early medieval records describe the surname as being rendered in several forms, including Taillefer, Telfair, Tulliver and Tolver.
Other proposals, drawn from Middle English, interpret the components tel (roof tile) and fer (shepherd) as meaning “shepherd of roof tiles”, suggesting a link to a person who manufactured roof tiles or tended to them for building repairs. These interpretations, while plausible, are less widely adopted by contemporary scholars of onomastics.
In the present day, the surname remains most common in Scotland and northern England, especially in the counties of Fife, Aberdeenshire and the Borders, and in the English counties of North and West Yorkshire. Within the United Kingdom it is found in a number of small villages such as Leitholm, Cursiter, Akeld, Belford and Yetholm. In the United States the name is dispersed without a single concentration, with historical associations in states including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and Texas. Roughly a few thousand individuals worldwide bear the surname today.
Several spelling variations exist, reflecting the multilingual heritage of the name. Common variants include Talford, Tailferd, Talphard, Tailfard, Telfard and Thalfard. The French rendering is Taillefer, which may be used by those of Norman French descent. In Lowland Scots the name may appear as Thilfer, and the patronymic MacThilfer is occasionally encountered. Other forms such as Tilly, Taillie and Tilley reflect adaptations in Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands, while the Anglicised version Taylor often appears among descendants of Scots and Irish immigrants in North America.
Typical given names associated with the Telfer surname
Male
- Andrew
- Colin
- David
- James
- John
- Michael
- Paul
- Robert
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Alison
- Angela
- Ann
- Anne
- Elizabeth
- Jacqueline
- Jennifer
- Joan
- Karen
- Margaret
- Mary
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Telford
- Taillefer
- Talfer
- Tefler
- Delavar
- Delavari
- Delavere
- Delfour
- Delivre
- Dellafera
- Deloffre
- Delver
- Delvere
- Dilaver
- Dilfer
- Doliveira
- Dolliver
- Dolvere
- Dulfer
- Tailford
- Talavera
- Talfor
- Talford
- Talfourd
- Talfree
- Taliaferro
- Talvern
- Teler
- Telf
- Telfair
- Telfar
- Telfel
- Telferd
- Telfor
- Telfort
- Telfourd
- Tellford
- Tilfer
- Tilfor
- Tolefree
- Tolfree
- Tollfree
- Tolliver
- Tolofari
- Tolver
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Telfer in...
Braille
⠞⠑⠇⠋⠑⠗
Morse
-..-....-...-.
Semaphore
There are approximately 3,957 people named Telfer in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,360th most common surname in Britain. Around 61 in a million people in Britain are named Telfer.
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Scotland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Telfer
- Paul Telfer - Actor
- Paul Telfer - Scottish football player
- Charlie Telfer - Scottish football player
- Jim Telfer - Scottish rugby union football player and coach
- George Telfer - Football player
- Colin Telfer - Scottish rugby union player
- Garry Telfer - Scottish football player (1965 to 2007)
- Willie Telfer - Scottish football player (1925 to 1995)
- Willie Telfer - Football player (1909 to 1986)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.