Twamley Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Twamley Family History

Twamley Family History

The Twamley ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Twamley include Tamley, Twemlee, Twemlow, Twemblow, Twomely and many others. These names are of English descent and are of locational origin, being derived from several placenames in England. Among these are Tremlow in County Chester, and possibly Warmley in County Gloucestershire. Locational names are derived from placenames and describe someone who lived near a physical feature such as an elm tree, hill, river or church, or from habitations such as a town, village, farmstead or county. An early record of the name refers to a John Twamley who was a witness at the Church of St. Dunstans at Stepney in the year 1719. A Lyulph de Twemlowe was recorded in the 'East Chester Rolls' in the year 1208.

Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired land by either force or gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals. It was by the method of creating and updating these old reference books that they were able to maintain their authority and enforce laws.

The name Twamley in Ireland is on record since the eighteenth century where it is most associated with County Wexford.The Twamley family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Twamley descendants.