Tilmouth

This is a rare locational name which was apparently derived from the town of Tilmouth in Northumberland, and yet the epicentre seems to be Lowestoft in Suffolk. Furthermore the first recording is mid 17th Century suggesting that the name is an "import" to Suffolk from elsewhere. As a town name, Tilmouth first appears circa 1050, in the "Historia de Sancto Cuthbertus" the spelling being "Tylle Muthe" - from the Ancient British word "Till" meaning a river, and the old English "mutha" - a mouth. The late medieval labour movements lead to persons being called after their places of origin, the use of "locational" names also applied to those of noble birth, when they would have been distinguished by "de". The name recordings include William Tillmouth, christened on May 15th 1658, he was apparently one of the children of the original "Tilmouths", below so much for spelling. Other recordings were Elizabeth Tilmouth who married James Butcher on December 5th 1782 at Great Yarmouth, and was then remarried to William Page in May 8th 1792 at the same place. In London William Tilmouth married Mary Webster on June 16th, 1800, at St. Dunstan in the East. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Tilmouth, which was dated September 19th 1655, (marriage to Margaret Fincham at Lowestoft, Suffolk), during the reign of Oliver Cromwell, "The Lord Protector", 1649 - 1658. 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.