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My surname is Tait (identical pronunciation to Tate - tayte), and the story goes that my Malasian great grandfather, when sailing to Britain, took this name from a shipmate. Supposedly, he had some unpleasant reason to be changing it, and it's possible that he misspelt it (either intentionally or unintentionally). But perhaps it is actually an individual surname? I know that there is a company in Britain spelt in the same way, and I think they produce paper... though it might not be a family business.
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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.
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