TEW
The surname Tew is of strictly English provenance. It is recorded within the British Isles, specifically within England, and is associated with the English language and the Christian faith.
Its earliest derivation appears to stem from the Old-English word tēo, meaning “tie” or “fasten”. This suggests that the name was originally given to an individual skilled in the manufacture of rope or cord, or one who was particularly competent in tying and fastening objects. The occupational connotation is reinforced by historical mention of a rope-maker in the medieval period.
Alternatively, the name may derive from a locational source. The parishes of Great, Little and Duns Tew in Oxfordshire are documented in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Tewe and Teowe. Subsequent medieval records refer to the same settlement as Tiwa Magna in the Pipe Rolls of 1165, Parva Tiwe in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1207 and donestiva in the Calendar of Charters and Rolls of Oxfordshire c.1200. These forms all point to the Old-English element tiewe, meaning a ridge or a lengthy object, and it has been proposed that the placename was so called because of a prominent ridge in the landscape. The surname is first recorded in the early half of the twelfth century in its earliest form as Hugo de Tiw in the Pipe Rolls during the reign of Henry I (1100 to 1135).
Another possible origin, although less certain, records the name as deriving from the Welsh word pew, meaning “round” or “plump”. This interpretation would render Tew a nickname for an especially corpulent person. The Welsh root is reflected in the appearance of the name in the Assize Rolls of Cheshire in 1286 as Hugh le Tyw and in later documents such as the marriage of Annes and Joanna Tew to Robert Barrett on 7 January 1550 and on 15 December 1565.
Throughout the Middle Ages and into the early modern period the surname appears in a variety of official documents: the Domesday Book, the Pipe Rolls, the Curia Regis Rolls, the Calendar of Charters and Rolls and the Assize Rolls. These attestations confirm that the name Tew has a documented presence in England from at least the early twelfth century, surviving in its original or variant forms into the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Typical given names associated with the Tew surname
Male
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Stephen
Female
- Alison
- Andrea
- Beverley
- Elizabeth
- Helen
- Joanne
- Julie
- Karen
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Rebecca
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
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There are approximately 2,718 people named Tew in the UK. That makes it roughly the 3,287th most common surname in Britain. Around 42 in a million people in Britain are named Tew.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
