Found in the spellings of Tarze, Tarzey, Tarzer, Tarser, Tarsey, Tersey, and Torsey, this very unusual name is probably job descriptive although it may also be locational. It derives from the Old English pre 7th Century 'Taesel' and means either one who teased the cloth by using a thistle head, or possibly one who was resident by a special thistle bed. There is also a school of thought that the name may be a nickname for a 'prickly' (unpleasant) person. Either way the name in its wide variety of spellings has long been recorded in England, these recordings include Thomas Tarze who married Elimor Follard at St. Peter-le-Poer, London on April 26th 1632, and Henery Tarzey, christened at St. Andrew's, Holborn on November 25th 1632 in the reign of Charles I (1625 - 1649). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Matilda la Taselere, which was dated 1301, the Parliamentary Rolls for Essex, during the reign of King Edward I, The Hammer of the Scots, 1272 - 1307. 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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