Telles History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Spain
Ireland

Early Origins of the Telles family

The surname Telles was first found in Huntingdon, where they were descended from Taillefer of Normandy, jester to King William, Duke of Normandy, who asked the Duke for a favor at Hastings. Telfer put his horse to the gallop charging before all the rest to the amazement of the English soldiers. "A name of great antiquity. The exploits of the noble jouglere Taillefer at the battle of Hastings are well-known. William, Count of Angoulesme, in a battle against the Northmen engaged their king Storis, and with one stroke of his sword Durissima, forged by the great Wayland Smith, cut in two his body and cuirass. Hence he acquired the sobriquet of Taillefer, or 'cut iron.' " 1 He was granted lands in Huntingdon, but was invited by David, Earl of Huntingdon, later to be King of Scotland, to attend him in Scotland and was granted lands in Lanarkshire.

Early History of the Telles family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Telles research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1150, 1500, 1643, 1683 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Telles History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Telles Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Telfer, Talfer, Telford, Telpher, Talifero, Tailyefer, Telfair and many more.

Early Notables of the Telles family

More information is included under the topic Early Telles Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Telles Ranking

In the United States, the name Telles is the 7,568^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Telles family to Ireland

Some of the Telles family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Telles migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Telles Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Alonso Telles, who arrived in New Spain in 1851 3
Jose Telles, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1878 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Telles (post 1700) +

Raymond L. Telles Jr. (b. 1915), American politician, U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica, 1961-67
Lucy Parker Telles (1870-1955), Native American basket weaver
Raymond L. Telles Jr. (1915-2013), the first Mexican-American Mayor of a major American city, El Paso, Texas (1957-1961), United States Ambassador to Costa Rica (1961-1967)
Gonçalo Pereira Ribeiro Telles (1922-2020), Portuguese politician and landscape architect
Marcel Hermann Telles (b. 1950), Brazilian businessman, board member of AB InBev; his estimated fortune is 12.1 billion
António da Cunha Telles (b. 1935), Portuguese film director and producer
Sylvia Telles (1934-1966), Brazilian jazz samba and bossa nova singer of the 1950s and 1960s
Lygia Fagundes Telles (b. 1923), Brazilian novelist and short-story writer
Alex Nicolao Telles (b. 1992), Brazilian professional footballer

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)