Recorded in the spellings of Tadloo, Tadlow, Tatlowe, and Tatlow, this is an English locational surname. It originates from either the village of Tadlow in the county of Cambridge, or just possibly from a now 'lost' medieval village. The name means 'the hill of the frogs' from the pre 7th century 'tadde' meaning toad or frog and 'hlaw' - a hill. Quite why frogs or toads should be on a hill rather than by a pond as in the Oxfordshire village of Tadmarton (originally Tadde-mere), is unclear. The possibility remains that the prefix refers of the name to a person called 'Tadde' although the meaning is probably still the same! The village is ancient being first recorded in the year 909 a.d. in the spelling of Tadeslaue, becoming Taddelawe in 1242, and the modern form in about 1535. The first known surname recording is believed to be that of Roysis de Tadelowe in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridge in 1273, whilst later examples taken from surviving church registers include - Hester Tatlow, the daughter of John Tatlow, christened at the church of St Sepulchre, city of London, on May 15th 1677, and Joseph Tatlow who married Sarah Farmer at St Georges Chapel, Hanover Square, London, on May 1st 1803. Curiously in 1880 there were more examples of the name recording as Tatlow or Tatlowe in Philadelphia, USA, than in London.

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