Tinker History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
This Tinker surname derives from the Old English word tinklere, of uncertain origin. The name is generally thought to be of occupational origin for someone who mended of pots and pans. 1
Early Origins of the Tinker family
The surname Tinker was first found in London, where a Laurence Tinekere is in a listing from 1244-1246 in "The History of St. Bartholomew's Hospital." Roger le Tinkelere was listed in Yorkshire in 1268 and later, Thomas le Tindere was found in the Assize Rolls for Northumberland in 1279. The name is "characteristically northern, noted only in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumberland and Northumberland." 2
And further north again, we found in Scotland, "Jacobus Tinckler held land in the reign of William the Lion. James Tynkler and others were charged with deforcing a messenger in Ednem, 1510. Robert Tinkler was tenant on the Abbey lands of Kelso, 1567, John Tinklar and John Tynklar, Jr., appear in Nether Mains, Renfrew, 1575, John Tinkler was admitted burgess of Glasgow, 1617 and Allan Tinckler in Stitchill made a claim in 1665." 3
Early History of the Tinker family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tinker research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1243, 1244, 1268, 1273, 1279, 1379, 1581, 1617, 1620 and 1621 are included under the topic Early Tinker History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Tinker Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Tinker, Tinkler, Tink, Tinke, Tyneker, Tynekar and many more.
Early Notables of the Tinker family
Notables of this surname at this time include:
- Thomas Tinker (c. 1581-1620), one of the Pilgrims who made the voyage on the Mayflower...
- It is generally thought he was from Norfolk as there was a Thomas Tinker in the same field of work - carpenter, of Neatishead, co...
Tinker Ranking
In the United States, the name Tinker is the 4,523rd most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 4
Tinker migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Tinker Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Ann? Tinker, (d. 1621), who arrived in Plymouth, MA, in 1620 with her husband Thomas aboard the ship "Mayflower", they had a son with them may have been Richard.
- Thomas Tinker, (d. 1621), who arrived in Plymouth, Mass in 1620 aboard the ship "Mayflower", they had a son with them may have been Richard. 5
- John Tinker, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1635 5
- Ann Tinker, who landed in Virginia in 1657 5
Tinker Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Melger Tinker, aged 16, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1739 5
Tinker migration to Canada +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Tinker Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
- Mary Tinker, who settled in New Brunswick in 1779
Tinker migration to New Zealand +
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:
Tinker Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- Mr. Tinker, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Lady Jocelyn" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 5th November 1873 6
Contemporary Notables of the name Tinker (post 1700) +
- Grant Tinker (1926-2016), American Peabody Award and Primetime Emmy Award winning broadcasting executive who was CEO of NBC from 1981 to 1986
- John Tinker (b. 1958), American Primetime Emmy Award winning television producer and writer
- LaMarcus Tinker (b. 1990), American actor, known for The First Time (2012), Friday Night Lights (2006) and Cougar Town (2009)
- Mark Tinker (b. 1951), American four-time Primetime Emmy Award winning television producer and director, known for his work on NYPD Blue (1993), Private Practice (2007) and The White Shadow (1978)
- Joe Tinker (1880-1948), American Major League Baseball player and manager, inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946, eponym of Tinker Field, Orlando, Florida
- Robert Frederick Tinker (b. 1941), American physicist, science educator, and education technology innovator
- Thomas Tinker, one of the Pilgrims who made the voyage on the Mayflower
- George E. "Tink" Tinker, prominent American Indian theologian and scholar
- Frank Glasgow Tinker (1909-1939), American mercenary fighter pilot for the Spanish Republican Air Force
- Gerald Alexander Tinker (b. 1951), former track athlete and American football player
- ... (Another 12 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Citations +
- Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- 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)
- "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)
- New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html