Tweedlie

This intriguing and interesting name is of Northern English and Scottish origin and is a dialectal variant of either a regional name Tweedale from the vale of the River Tweedy or from a locational name 'Tweedie', from a place so called in Stonehouses, Lanarkshire. The former, a river name is thought to be derived from an English word from the Welsh 'twyed' meaning 'hemmed in', with reference to the deep and narrow valley at points along its course, with 'doel', a valley. Tweedie is a Scottish territorial name and legend has it that the first of the name was a child of a water spirit residing in the river Tweed. However, Stonehouse parish is the true parent of the name. Two name bearers found recorded in Lanarkshire are marriages between one Bridget Tweedlie and George McLetchie on 14th July 1871 in Blythswood, Glasgow, and between William Tweedlie and Marfory Waldie on 31st December 1866 in Bothwell. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert de Twedhall, which was dated 1279, Assize Rolls of Northumberland, during the reign of King Alexander III of Scotland, 1249 - 1286. 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.