Tompsett

This interesting and unusual surname is of early medieval English origin, and derives from a diminutive form of the male personal name "Thomas", where the suffix "et(t) was added as a diminutive term, indicating "little Thomas", thus "son of Thomas". The given name derives from an Aramaic byname meaning "Twin", and was the name of one of the disciples, contributing to its popularity as a medieval given name. Thomas is found in England before the Norman Conquest only as priest's name, but with the advent of the Normans it soon came into general use. Two of the earliest Norman Archbishops of York were so named, Thomas of Bayeux (deceased 1100) and his nephew and successor (deceased 1112). The popularity of the name is borne out by the number of surnames it generated, ranging from T(h)omas, Thomazin, Thompsett and Thom to Thomason and Thomerson. Recordings of the surname from English Church Registers include: the marriage of Henrie Tomsett and Joane Fox on June 16th 1578 at St. Paul's, Canterbury, Kent; the marriage of Tomazine Tompsett and Robert Symon on January 13th 1582 at Cranbrook, Kent; and the marriage of John Tompsett and Anne Rogers on May 22nd 1636 at Beckenham, Kent. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Tomasett, which was dated April 12th 1550, christened at Maidstone, Kent, during the reign of King Edward V1, known as "The Boy King", 1547 - 1553. 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.