[Surname] Re: Tait
in reply to a message by Andromeda
Interesting story.
Tait and Tate are both found as spellings of this surname. It comes from the Old Norse teitr, meaning "cheerful", but it seems to have been a given name rather than a description. I think it belonged mainly to Northern England and Lowland Scotland. Tait was the name of a Scottish Border clan, based in Roxburghshire, and Tate and Lyle are a well-known firm (sugar refiners) based in Liverpool.
Tait and Tate are both found as spellings of this surname. It comes from the Old Norse teitr, meaning "cheerful", but it seems to have been a given name rather than a description. I think it belonged mainly to Northern England and Lowland Scotland. Tait was the name of a Scottish Border clan, based in Roxburghshire, and Tate and Lyle are a well-known firm (sugar refiners) based in Liverpool.