TWINE

The surname Twine is of English origin, with etymological roots in the Old English word twin meaning “thread” or “string”. It is recorded as a metonymic occupational name for a twiner, an artisan who twists or braids thread. The Middle English form twine was used to describe the material itself, and the surname was likely bestowed upon individuals engaged in this craft or who lived near a place where twine was produced.

The earliest surviving record of the name appears as Edmund Twyne in 1422 in the “Feet of Fines” of Huntingdonshire, a document dating to the reign of King Henry V. This evidence indicates that the name was in use by the early fifteenth century and had begun to be adopted as a hereditary family name.

Church registers from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries contain several entries that demonstrate the presence of the surname in London. For example, Elizabeth Twynne married John Allsop on 30 May 1549 at St. Michael Bassishaw; John Twyne married Thomas Best on 8 December 1567 at St. Lawrence Poutney; and Margitt Twine married Thomas Smyth on 14 February 1612 at St. Bride’s, Fleet Street. In 1571 a coat of arms was granted to a Twine family of Preston, Lancashire; the escutcheon featured a black fess embattled in chief, two black stars, all on a silver field. Widdo Twine is documented as owning land in Barbados in 1680, evidencing the overseas movement of members of the family during the seventeenth century.

Geographically, the surname has been predominantly associated with the southern counties of England, particularly Devon and Cornwall, where it remains relatively uncommon. In the eastern and northern parts of England, occurrences have also been found in Lancashire and Yorkshire. The distribution of the name in the United Kingdom has historically been sparse but concentrated in these regions.

Migration records indicate that bearers of the surname settled in Ireland, especially in the province of Ulster, during the seventeenth century, and later in the United States, with a significant concentration in the southeastern region, notably Georgia. The majority of contemporary Twines in the Americas trace their ancestry back to immigrations from the United Kingdom and Ireland in the early nineteenth century.

The surname Twine possesses several orthographic variants that have been recorded in historical documents. The most frequent forms include Twine and Twist; additional variations are Bind, Bond, Twind, Tynde, Twyne, Twinton, Tween, Twinn, Tynd, Twin, and the patronymic Twining. These spellings have appeared primarily within the United Kingdom, though some were used in early colonial records in the United States.

Today, the surname remains uncommon, but it continues to be found across the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States, reflecting its medieval English origins and subsequent diaspora.

Typical given names associated with the Twine surname

Male

• Adam
• Andrew
• Anthony
• Ashley
• Christopher
• David
• James
• John
• Mark
• Paul
• Philip
• Richard
• Robert

Female

• Alison
• Angela
• Christine
• Jacqueline
• Jane
• Margaret
• Nicola
• Pamela
• Patricia
• Rose
• Sarah
• Susan
• Sylvia

Similar and related surnames

Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.

How to communicate the surname Twine in...

Braille

⠞⠺⠊⠝⠑

Morse

-.--..-..

Semaphore

Origin: English

Region of origin: British Isles

Country of origin: England

Religion of origin: Christian

Language of origin: English

Famous people named Twine

• Scott Twine - Football player
• Bill Twine - Golfer (1898 to 1977)

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.

Your comments on the Twine surname