Tesauro

Recorded in original spellings which include: Tesoe, Tesauro, Tezure, (Italy), the English Tresor, Treasure and Tressure, and the French Trysour, Tensorier and Tansorier, this is 12th century surname, and one originally of Roman (Latin) origins. It is a status name for a Treasurer, a person who was the adminstrator of the local city finances, or with a noble house or monastery. Deriving from the word 'tresor', itself from the even earlier 'thesaurus' , now used in a rather different context, it first appears in England in 1148, when Ansgood Tresor, is recorded in what is known as the Winton Rolls for the county of Hampshire. This is almost certainly the earliest recording of the surname anywhere in the world, as all other countries in Europe were later, a few by seven centuries, than England, in adopting both surnames and central taxation. Over the many years that have passed since the begining of the formation of surnames most have undergone change. Sometimes, particularly when they have moved between countries, continual change to the point where the original spelling may have been lost in the mists of times. In this case examples of the surname recordings include Nicholas de la Tresorie of Essex in 1325, and in Italy on December 15th 1583, that of Giovotto Tesoriero of Lipari, Messina. Other examples include: Edmund Tressur, who applied for a marriage licence in England in 1596, whilst Guiseppina Tessarolo was a witness at Galliera Veneta, Padova, Italy, on July 12th 1844, and Ancieto Tesauro, who married Costanza di Virgilio, at Altavilla, Avellino, on February 17th 1858.