Show ContentsTackly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Tackly family

The surname Tackly was first found in Oxfordshire at Tackley, a parish, in the union of Woodstock, hundred of Wootton. 1 The place name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was first listed as Tachelie. 2

Literally the place name means "woodland clearing of a man called Taecca, or where young sheep are kept," derived from the Old English personal name or from the Old English "tacca" + "leah." 3

William the Conqueror granted the manor of Tackley to Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester. The family was first recorded in the area during the reign of Edward I. 4

The first listing in early rolls was Sanson Tachel, who in 1165, held a knight's fee of the old feoffment of Roger de Moubray in Yorkshire 5 and four and a half of his Lincolnshire fief 6.

John Takel held at Traneby, in the East Riding or Yorkshire 7. Beatrix, daughter of Gilbert Thakel, was the wife of William de Wentworth of Wentworth-Woodhouse (acquired by his father through an heiress in the time of Henry III.), and the mother of two sons: 1. William, ancestor of the Earls of Strafford; and 2. Richard, Bishop of London and Chancellor of England in 1338. 8

About 1272, Magister Galfrid Takel, Simon Thakel, and Ralph Thakel all occur in the same county: and Alan, Benedict, Matthew, and Robert Takel in Oxfordshire. - Rotuli Hundredorum. The latter was Marshal of Woodstock in 1280: and more than a hundred years after that, a Robert Takel was Prior of Rosedale in Yorkshire. A third Robert, Rector of Marsh-Gibbon in Cambridgeshire, died in 1479. 8

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 also included: William de Takeleye, Essex; Agnes de Takele, Oxfordshire; Robert de Takkele, Oxfordshire; and Willani de Tackeleg, Essex. 9

Early History of the Tackly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tackly research. Another 142 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1194, 1200, 1202, 1273, 1325 and 1529 are included under the topic Early Tackly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tackly Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Tackley, Takely, Takly, Tackly, Takel, Tackell and many more.

Early Notables of the Tackly family

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

Migration of the Tackly family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Tackly name or one of its variants: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  4. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  5. Liber Niger Scutarii ("Black Book of the Exchequer"), containing reports by county on feudal holdings in England in 1166 (reign of Henry II)
  6. Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
  7. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
  8. 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
  9. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)


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