Touch History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
England

The surname Touch is a local name "from the parish of Tough (Gaelic tulach, a knoll), near Alford, Aberdeenshire. The "ch" and "gh" have the guttural pronunciation of "ch" in "loch." In a roll of missing charters of David II is one to Isabel Toulch, sister to Henry Toulch, of the lands of Toulch in the sheriffdom of Abirdene " 1

Further to the south in England, the name could have been derived from the Old French word touche, meaning thicket, and indicates that the original bearer lived near a thicket. 2 Alternatively, the name could have been a nickname for someone who was "sturdy; capable of endurance." 3 4

Early Origins of the Touch family

The surname Touch was first found in Aberdeenshire. "Sande Towcht in Aberdeen was ordered in 1538 to find caution for "strubbling" others. Sir James Toucht was a notary in Fife, 1549, Thomas Tucht was keeper of the inner door of Exchequer in 1561, one Touch is recorded as burgess of Dysart in 1508, and Jonn Towichte was a "baixter" in Aberdeen in 1581." 1

In England, Cheshire was the home to many of the family. Here they claim descent from Joslin de Touche, who was granted lands by King William, the Duke of Normandy, after the Conquest. The Touches were Lords of Audley, the Earls of Castlehaven. It is generally thought that by the 14th century, many of these Norman nobles moved north to Scotland and were granted land by King David of Scotland.

Some remained in England as in Kent, we found Nicholas le Toghe in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1275 and Alicia la Towe in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in the same year. 4

Early History of the Touch family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Touch research. Another 188 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1361, 1549, 1561, 1611, 1653 and 1748 are included under the topic Early Touch History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Touch Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Touch, Toulch, Tough, Tuff, Tuf, Toucht and others.

Early Notables of the Touch family

Notable among the family at this time was

Sir James Touch of Fife

Touch migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Touch Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Alester Touch, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1651
Alester Touch, who arrived in New England in 1651-1652 5

Touch Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Ada Touch, aged 15, who settled in America, in 1892
William Touch, aged 12, who immigrated to the United States, in 1892

Touch Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Laura Touch, aged 30, who immigrated to America from Rosalyn, in 1903
Herm. Henry Touch, aged 26, who landed in America from London, England, in 1907
Laura F. Touch, aged 38, who landed in America from London, England, in 1910
Bella Touch, aged 24, who immigrated to the United States from Truro, England, in 1910

Contemporary Notables of the name Touch (post 1700) +

Jennifer Touch, American actress, known for Curses feat. Jennifer Touch: Boundless (2023)
Bobo Touch, American director, known for Bobo Touch Helpline-Defective Bathroom (2018), Bobo Touch Helpline-Bushwick Tarzan (2018) and Bobo Touch Helpline-The Kisser (2018)

Historic Events for the Touch family +

Monongah Mine

Mr. Tony Touch (b. 1877), Slavic coal miner who was in mine 6 at the Monongah mine on 6th December 1907 when it exploded and collapsed; he died 6

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
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)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
Monongah Mining Disaster retrieved on 8th August 2021. (Retrieved fromhttps://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/monongah.htm).