Could you be a descendant of John de Tame who is listed in the "Hundred rolls" (a twelfth century census document), or Claricia de Tame who lived in Oxford in 1273, or Roger Thame - Abbot of Abingdon from 1334 to 1361
The prefix "de" means "of" or "from" and was common in early instances of local surnames but was later dropped from the name in most cases.
Perhaps you are a descendant of Alexander Tame of Sparsholt who gave £35 to the poor in 1786 or Leonard Tame who owned an Off Licence in Abingdon in 1920. (I believe that branch moved to Scotland)
There are Essex and Gloucestershire branches of the Tame Family who may not be related at all, although Gloucestershire was just along a main coach route from Oxford to Bristol.
You could be related to one of the
Gloucestershire Tames (John Tame and his son Edmund) who were responsible
for the building of the 15th century church in
Fairford in Gloucestershire, or perhaps you are related to Hubert Tame of
Stanford who's name appears on the Scottish War memorial in Edinburgh Castle,
a victim of World war 1 serving in a Scottish regiment.
The tomb of John Tame is in
St Mary's
church at Fairford.
More recent members of the 'Tame' family include
Rachel de Thame, a presenter on the BBC's
Gardeners' World who is still using the original 'de Thame' variation of
the surname. I am in contact with a number of people who are researching
their Tame Family History, so if you are one of them I would be pleased to
hear from you at my Email address below.
Recent contacts
Oct 2009 - I have an email from Christobel Davies, a descendant of William Tame (1805) of Marcham, through his Daughter, Caroline (1849). Chris sent me a picture of Caroline.
Sept 2009 - Kim, in Australia, is descended from Thomas Tame (1831) of Stoke Goldington, who emigrated in 1849 on the ship Diana. Thomas appears to be the son of John and Ann Tame of Stoke Goldington in Buckinghamshire.
I heard from Sharon in Texas, USA, her daughter has married Richard John Tame of Newcastle UK, eldest son of Kenneth and Elizabeth.
| Links to other Tame websites > | Thames and Timms Websites |
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I was born in Wolverhampton, as was my Father (George Albert - b. 1919), and my Grandfather (George Henry b. 1891) and I at first thought that my family could have been named after the local river (see below). It did not take long however to discover that my Great Grandfather (Charles John - b. 1865) had moved to Wolverhampton from Abingdon, Berkshire around 1890 and the local river name was just a co-incidence. His father (George) was also born in Abingdon (in 1846) and was the 7th of 12 children of John Tame , who was born in the village of Marcham near Abingdon in 1806, and his wife Ann Leonard. I have recently had a contact from a Descendant of Ann Leonard, so I now know a bit more about that side of the tree.
Quite a few of my family, including my father and grandfather,
seem to have been employed in the brewing trade, both in Abingdon where there
were 50 breweries in the early 19th century and Wolverhampton where there
were 3 (Wm. Butlers Springfield Brewery, Russell's Brewery -taken over in
1927 by Butler's, and Banks's Brewery, still going in year 2003).
I have recently discovered that we seem to have relatives in London who spell
their surname 'Thame' and they appear to have changed to this spelling of
the name during the 1800's. It is not difficult to see how this happens as
a lot of people could not write at that time and relied upon someone else
to record their names on official and other documents.
My Ancestry Chart
To find out more
Tame Family - Blazon of arms: Or, a dragon vert and a lion azure crowned or.
The dragon is considered to be the guardian and spirit of all knowledge. The lion is a symbol of Majesty and Kingship.
(Or is Gold, Vert is Green and Azure is blue, so the blazon is a Green Dragon and a Blue Lion wearing a crown on a Gold Background)
Translation : Not for ourselves alone
The cock is a bird of great courage and in heraldry it signifies a hero in the field.
Ancestry.co.uk - I have recently found lots of information on here.
To find UK members of the TAME family who have died serving their country click here to visit the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site.
Find My Past and 1911 Census websites Websites
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The River Thame from which our name derives, got its name from the celtic word meaning dark.
The River Thame which the earliest instances of the family name comes from flows through the town of Thame in Oxfordshire before entering the Thames near Dorchester.
A second River Tame springs up in Wednesfield, near Wolverhampton, flows South through Birmingham (in a Culvert under the M6 near Spaghetti Junction) before turning North through Tamworth into the River Trent.
The headquarters of the Severn-Trent Water Authority is in TAME HOUSE in Newhall St, Birmingham.
A third River Tame flows through Manchester (area known as Tameside), probably into the Mersey.
Page last updated 10/11/2009
