This rare and interesting surname is of German origin and is the diminutive (little, or son of) form of the Germanic personal name Thimmo, which is of uncertain origin, but thought to be a short, or pet form of the name Dietmar. The name Dietmar is from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements "theudo", meaning race, or people, (the Old High German "diot", "deot") and "meri", "mari", famous. Tieman, with variant spellings Tyman, Tymon, Tinien, Tiemann, and Thiemann, is first recorded in England at the beginning of the 17th Century (see below) but is rare, although the name is very numerous in Germany, for example the marriages of Ann Margaretha Tieman and Gerdt Buchthauss on April 12th 1708 at Evangelisch, Lengerick, Westfalen, and in St. Mary Woolnoth, London, of Adolph Tieman and Mary Shelston on December 17th 1818. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Tyman (marriage to Dorothie Cooke), which was dated July 3rd 1603, St. Mildred Poultrey with St. Mary Colechurch, 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.