Surname Towne - Meaning and Origin
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Towne: What does the surname Towne mean?
The surname Towne is of Anglo-Saxon origin and dates back to ancient England. It is a topographic surname given to someone who lived or worked in a town. The name is derived from the Old English pre 7th century word "tun" meaning an enclosure, settlement or village, which eventually evolved to mean "town" in Middle English. Thus, the last name doesn't usually refer to a person living in a major city, but someone who resided in a more significant settlement compared to a small village or hamlet. People with this surname may have been notable within their community, holding important roles or positions. With time, it became used as a surname to distinguish between people of the same first name. The variations in the spelling of the surname include Town, Towns, and Atown.
Order DNA origin analysisTowne: Where does the name Towne come from?
The last name Towne is most commonly found today in Australia and the United States. In the United States, the name is most popular in New England, where it was borne by Puritans who arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is also prominent in the states of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. In Australia, the name is especially prevalent in Victoria and New South Wales, where it was likely held by immigrants arriving from England, Scotland, and Ireland.
The surname Towne is derived from the Middle English word tun, which is an old English term that is related to the modern English "town". It was originally a locational name that referred to a person who lived in or near a settlement community. It could also be used to denote a person of property who owned a piece of land in a town. The name could also have been a nickname for a person who was born in a city, or for somebody who was especially fond of the town.
The Towne family is believed to have been of Saxon origin, and in some cases the name could refer to an inhabitant of the German province of Thun. Over many centuries, the spellings of the last name have varied, from “Toun” in the 14th century to “Toon” in the 17th century and “Town” in modern times.
Variations of the surname Towne
The variant spellings and surnames of Towne tend to follow phonetic evolution, and some can be very similar. Some variants include Town, Towns, Toun, Toune, Touns, Tounes, and even Tun.
Towne is an English topographic name, meaning “occupied plot of land”, and is an indication of someone having resided at a particular place. It is often thought that the derivation comes from Old French word ‘tons’, meaning a village.
As an American surname, it has existed since 1620, when John Town and John Toun were two of the first to arrive in Massachusetts and Virginia respectively. They may have been from Scotland, where the name is believed to have originated, though Town is found in records in England as far back as 1332.
Scottish variants of Towne include Tutn, Tywne, Tumm, Tounson, and McToune. Similarly, Irish variants of the name include McDoun, O'Tewn, Taown, and Taune.
In terms of German variants, or German names of similar origin, these include Stadt, Strasse, and Hafen. Similarly, there are Polish variants such as Tym, Towen, and Tymann.
It is likely that if you are of English, Scottish, Irish, German or Polish descent, you are related to the Townes, regardless of how the name has been spelt or evolved over time.
Famous people with the name Towne
- Richard Towne: American actor and stuntman known for his portrayals in films such as The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
- Molly Towne: English actress featured in films such as About a Boy and Peter Rabbit 2.
- Jonathan Towne: American civil war and western actor who was featured in films such as The Wild Bunch and Little Big Man.
- Jessica Towne: American film producer and one of the founders of independent film production company Cautionary Amerinca Pictures.
- Alexander Towne: American civil war officer and politician.
- Frances Harriet Whipple Green Duffield Towne: American suffragist, lecturer, and writer.
- Jackson Towne: American politician and Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Senate.
- Rusty Towne: American professional wrestler who competed in World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling between 1991 and 2001.
- Michelle Towne: Canadian member of Parliament for the electoral district of Oxford from 2015 to 2019.
- Marjorie Towne: American actress who appeared in films such as A Star is Born and Rancho Notorious.