Origins Available: French,
Irish
The long and noble heritage behind the name of Ternan first began in medieval France. While the
patronymic and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the name of the father and mother respectively, are the most common form of a hereditary surname in France,
occupational surnames also emerged during the late Middle Ages. Many people, such as the Ternan family, adopted the name of their
occupation as their surname. However, an occupational name did not become a hereditary surname until the office or type of employment became hereditary. The surname Ternan was a common name for a
tenant farmer. Looking back further, we find the name Ternan was originally from the Old French word
tenant, which referred to someone who lived on and farmed an area of land which was owned by someone else.
Early Origins of the Ternan family
The surname Ternan was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France, where the family has been traced from very early times.
Early History of the Ternan family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ternan research.
Another 198 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1303, 1362, 1472, and 1526 are included under the topic Early Ternan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Ternan Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Ternant, Ternants, Ternante, Ternantes, Ternan, Ternans, Ternane, Ternanes, Tairnant, Tairnants, Tairnante, Tairnantes, Tairenant, Tairenants, Tairenante, Tairenantes, Ternont, Ternonts, Ternonte, Ternontes, Ternon, Ternons, Ternone, Ternones, Ternond, Ternonds, Ternonde, Ternondes, de Ternant and many more.
Early Notables of the Ternan family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Ternan Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Ternan family to the New World and Oceana
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Ternan Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- James Ternan, who arrived in Virginia in 1794 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Ternan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- John Ternan, who settled in Philadelphia in 1850
- Michael Ternan, who settled in Philadelphia in 1853
Contemporary Notables of the name Ternan (post 1700)
- Jack G. B. Ternan Jr., American Democrat politician, Candidate for Texas State Senate 8th District, 2012