This unusual name is of early medieval English origin, and is now found chiefly in the south west counties of Devonshire and Cornwall. It derives from the Middle English (medieval) given name "Tamlin", a double diminutive, with the Anglo-Norman French suffixes "-el" and "-in", of the given name "Tam, Tom", itself a short, pet form of Thomas. This biblical personal name is from the Aramaic byname meaning "Twin", and was borne by one of Christ's disciples, known best for his scepticism. In England, Thomas is recorded only as the name of a priest before the Norman Conquest; thereafter it quickly became one of the most popular male given names, generating a large number of derivative surnames. Variant forms of Tamplin include Tamblyn, Tamblin, Tambling, Tamlin, and Tamlyn; the "p" and "b" are commonly intrusive in names derived from Thomas, as in Thompson. One William Tamlen is listed in the Register of St. Columb Major, Cornwall, in 1572, and the marriage of Margaret Tamplin and Nathaniel Wykes on September 28th 1684, at Swansea, Glamorgan, in South Wales. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Peter Tamelyn, which was dated 1327, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk", during the reign of King Edward 11, known as "Edward of Caernafon", 1307 - 1327. 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.

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