Tesson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancient history of the name Tesson began soon after 1066 when the Norman Conquest of England occurred. It was a name given to a fiesty or hot-tempered person. The name is a metaphor derived from the Old French word tison meaning fire-brand.

Alternatively the name could have originated from "Tesson or Taisson, the Norman-French for badger." 1

Early Origins of the Tesson family

The surname Tesson was first found in Northumberland where they held a family seat from early times, where the name originally was Tesson, one of the most powerful families in Normandy seated at Angouleme. Their history is French more than Viking and they distinguished themselves against the Saracens in 725.

They were later seated at Anjou and Raoul Tesson the first Lord of Cingueleiz led 120 knights at Val-Des-Dunes in 1047. Gilbert Tesson, his brother, obtained the barony of Alnwick from King Edward the Confessor, England's Saxon King, and was killed at the Battle of Hastings, fighting on the Saxon side. 2

Early History of the Tesson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tesson research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1309, 1651, 1680 and 1708 are included under the topic Early Tesson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tesson Spelling Variations

Before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Sound was what guided spelling in the Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Tesson family name include Tyson, Tesson, Tewson, Tiuson, Tison, Dyson and many more.

Early Notables of the Tesson family

Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Tesson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tesson Ranking

In France, the name Tesson is the 1,761^st most popular surname with an estimated 3,461 people with that name. 3

Tesson migration to the United States +

To escape the political and religious chaos of this era, thousands of English families began to migrate to the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. The passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe; however, those who made the voyage safely were encountered opportunities that were not available to them in their homeland. Many of the families that reached the New World at this time went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. Research into various historical records has revealed some of first members of the Tesson family to immigrate North America:

Tesson Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

George Tesson, who settled in Louisiana in 1719
George Tesson, aged 34, who arrived in Louisiana in 1719 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Tesson (post 1700) +

Philippe Tesson (1928-2023), French journalist and television columnist who focused on theatre, founder of the newspaper Le Quotidien de Paris

Historic Events for the Tesson family +

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Frank B. Tesson, American 1st Class Passenger from Philadephia, Pennsylvania, USA, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 5
Mrs. Alice Lowe Tesson, American 1st Class Passenger from Philadephia, Pennsylvania, USA, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 5

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 7) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/