Tow History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
England

The surname Tow 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 Tow family

The surname Tow 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 Tow family

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

Tow Spelling Variations

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

Early Notables of the Tow family

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

Tow Ranking

In the United States, the name Tow is the 16,310^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Tow migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Tow Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Tow, who arrived in Maryland in 1672 6

Tow migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Tow Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Joseph Tow, English convict who was convicted in Somerset, England for life for robbery, transported aboard the "Burrell" on 22nd July 1830, arriving in New South Wales 7
John Tow, English convict from Wiltshire, who was transported aboard the "Andromeda" on November 13, 1832, settling in New South Wales, Australia 8

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)
"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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/burrell
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 27) Andromeda voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1832 with 186 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/andromeda/1832