Titchmarsh

Recorded as Tidmarsh, Titchmarsh, Titmarsh, and possibly others, this is an early English locational surname. Well known in the 21st century because of its exposure on U K television, it is in fact quite rare. According to the famous Victorian etymologist Canon Charles Bardsley, it originates from the parish and village of Titchmarsh in the county of Northamptonshire, given recently as having a population of 601 inhabitants. The place is ancient, being first recorded in the year 973 a.d. as Tutean Merc, and in the famous Domesday Book of 1086 as Ticemerse. The meaning is given as Ticcea's marsh, suggesting that Ticcea is a personal name, however it may also refer to a marsh area populated by goats, from ticcen, meaning kid or goat. The surname like almost all surnames, is considerably younger than the place from which it originates. In this case the first recording is probably that of John de Tichermershe, in the Hundred Rolls of landowners in 1273, the first year of the reign of King Edward 1st (1272 - 1307). The name is also recorded in Yorkshire, with Richard Titchmarsh at St Martins church, York, on October 18th 1665, and later Richard Tidmarsh, at Sandal Magna, York, on January 7th 1722.