This rather uncommon surname, although one of many variant spellings, (see below) is medieval English, although its origins are arguably a combination of Aramaic, English and Norman-French! As a surname it is a diminutive form of the male given name Tamblyn or Tamlin, itself a double diminutive, containing the English suffixes "-el", short for little, and "-in", short for kin, with the prefix "Tam", a nickname form of the popular biblical and Aramaic name Thomas. Thomas, meaning "The Twin", was introduced into England by the returning crusaders of the 12th century. The modern surname spellings include Tamlin, Tamplin, Tamblin, Tambling and Tombling, and others such as Tamblett, Temblett, Temlett, Timblett and Tomblett, where the suffix is the French "et", a short spelling of petit, meaning little. The middle "b" of the name is quite arbitrary in the spellings, sometimes recorded, sometimes not. Examples showing the local spellings include the early church recording of Benet Temlet, who was christened at Crediton, Devonshire, on December 25th 1564, and twenty six years later his son, Thomas, also christened in Crediton, on February 21st 1590, except that now the the surname is recorded as Temblet. Another recording at Tedburn St Mary, only some twenty miles away, on June 16th 1645, shows the spelling of Temblett, when Elizabeth Temblett married Edward Shute. The first recorded spelling of the family name in any form, is probably that of Peter Tamelyn, in the 1327 subsidy rolls of the county of Suffolk, England. This was during the reign of King Edward 111, known as "The Father of the English Navy" 1327 - 1377. Throughout the centuries urnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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