Tytler

This very unusual medieval surname is a form of job descriptive metonymic. It derives from the Old English "Teothing", and means literally "one who collected the Tithes or local Taxes". The word "tithe" translates as a tenth part (of a persons' land or revenue) and the "Tyther or Tither" would have been responsible for assessing this valuation. It has to be said that his occupation may not have made the holders very popular, nevertheless; the surname is well recorded in the London area under a variety of spellings. The first recording shown is a good example of "name change", the father being spelt "Tytler" whilst the son appears as "Tydler". The name also appears as "Tidler" but not before 1780 and as Tedler slightly earlier circa 1750. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of James Tytler, which was dated July 3rd 1560, a witness at the christening of his son John at St. Andrew's by the Wardrobe, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.