Thiess History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Thiess is part of the ancient legacy of the early Norman inhabitants that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Thiess was a Norman name used for a fiesty or hot-tempered person. The name is a metaphor derived from the Old French word tison meaning fire-brand.

Alternatively the name could have originated from "Tesson or Taisson, the Norman-French for badger." 1

Early Origins of the Thiess family

The surname Thiess was first found in Northumberland where they held a family seat from early times, where the name originally was Tesson, one of the most powerful families in Normandy seated at Angouleme. Their history is French more than Viking and they distinguished themselves against the Saracens in 725.

They were later seated at Anjou and Raoul Tesson the first Lord of Cingueleiz led 120 knights at Val-Des-Dunes in 1047. Gilbert Tesson, his brother, obtained the barony of Alnwick from King Edward the Confessor, England's Saxon King, and was killed at the Battle of Hastings, fighting on the Saxon side. 2

Early History of the Thiess family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Thiess research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1309, 1651, 1680 and 1708 are included under the topic Early Thiess History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thiess Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Thiess are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Thiess include Tyson, Tesson, Tewson, Tiuson, Tison, Dyson and many more.

Early Notables of the Thiess family

Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Thiess Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Thiess migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Thiess, or a variant listed above:

Thiess Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joh Ludwig Thiess, who landed in Massachusetts in 1751 3
Henry Thiess, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1772 3
Christiana Wilhelmina Thiess, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1772 3
Carl Thiess, who arrived in America in 1778 3
Ferdinand Thiess, who arrived in America in 1779 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Thiess Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Wilhelm Thiess, who landed in Galveston, Tex in 1845 3
A H Thiess, who landed in New York in 1850 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Thiess (post 1700) +

Heidi Thiess, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for Texas State House of Representatives 24th District, 2012 4
Frank Thiess (1890-1977), German writer
Ursula Thiess (1924-2010), German film actress, known for her roles in Bandido (1956), Monsoon (1952) and The Iron Glove (1954)

Citations +

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
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)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html