Tiller

Recorded in the spellings of Tyler, Tiler, Tiller and Tylor, this interesting surname is of Anglo-Saxon and French origins. It was originally an occupational surname for a maker or layer of tiles. The derivation is either from the Olde English pre 7th Century word "tigele", itself from the Latin "tegula", meaning to cover or from an early French form introduced into English by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066, and derived from the words "tieuleor or tuilier". It would seem that the first recording of the name (see below) is from this source, but it has not survived as a modern surname. Tiles were used for floors and pavements during the Middle Ages, and were not used for roofing to any great extent until the 16th Century. The surname development includes: Robert le Tiler (1222, Essex); Geoffrey le Tylere (1279, Huntingdonshire); and Simon le Tyeler of Norfolk in 1286, whilst Wat Tyler was the leader of the Peasants Revolt in England in 1381. John Tyler (1790 - 1862) was the tenth president of the United States of America in 1841. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger le Tuiler, which was dated 1185, in records of the Knight Templars in the 12th Century. This was during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.