Tessier

This unusual and interesting name is of Old French origin, and was introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066. It is an occupational name for a weaver, derived from the Old French 'tissier, tisseur', weaver, from the Latin 'texarius', a derivative of 'texere', to weave. The modern surname can be found in a variety of forms, Tessier, Teissier, Teyssier, Tixier, Teixier, Texier, Letesier, and the prevalent Channel Island form, especially found on Guernsey, Tissier. The surname was re-introduced in Britain by the Huguenots who fled to England during the 16th and 17th Centuries, as in the record of the christening of Louise Tessier at London's Threadneedle Street, French Huguenot Church on October 29th 1699. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Nicholas Tisser, which was dated 1327, The Cambridgeshire Subsidy Rolls, during the reign of King Edward 111, 'The Father of the Navy', 1327-1377. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.