Tourville History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

Tourville is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Tourville family lived in Leicestershire. Their name, however, is a reference to Turville-la-Champagne, Normandy and from Turville (one of nine Seigneuries that bear the name in Normandy) near Pont-Audemer. The name is "derived from Torf de Torfville, from whom descended Geoffrey de Turville 1124, who had grants from the Earl of Leicester and Mellent in England." 1

"Raoul de Tourneville is on the Dives Roll; and Roger de Turville held Weston-Turville, Bucks, of Bishop Odo 2. Another manor in the county is called from him Turville. In Leicestershire they are 'one of the ancientest families in the shire'; seated at Normanton-Turville from the time of Henry II., and still flourishing in a junior branch at Husbands Bosworth in the same county." 3

However, some believe the name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and meant 'dry field'. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle the name was recorded in 796 as Thyrefeld. Regardless of the origin, Ralph Turvill, a benefactor of the abbey of Leicester was the first record of the name in 1297.

Early Origins of the Tourville family

The surname Tourville was first found in Leicestershire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Herdebere, Pailington, Bedworth, Chelmscote, Fulbrooke, and Nuneaton. Normanton Turvile was their main seat. William de Turvile, a companion in arms of Duke William at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, was the first settler. William was descended from the Turville-la-Champagne, seated at Eure, at Amfreville-la-Champagne.

Another source has a slightly more romantic understanding of their origin: "from which of the ten Seigniories of Tourville in the Duchy of Normandy the English Turviles came, cannot now he ascertained. Certain it is that William de Tourville accompanied Duke William to Hastings, and that soon after the Conquest, the Tourvilles became extensive proprietors in the counties of Warwick and Leicester, giving in the latter their name to the manor of Normanton Turvile." 4

In Buckinghamshire, the manor of Turville once belonged to the abbey at St Albans, but was seized by the Crown in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1547. The manor house has since been rebuilt as Turville Park, a fine stately home in the village of Turville. Geoffrey de Turville or de Tourville (died 1250) was an English-born judge and cleric in thirteenth-century Ireland, who held office as Bishop of Ossory and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. A native of Turville in Buckinghamshire, he claimed descendancy through Geoffrey de Turville (c.1122-1177), Lord of the Manor of Weston Turville.

Early History of the Tourville family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tourville research. Another 196 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1122, 1177, 1235, 1250, 1277, 1288, 1289, 1291, 1293, 1296, 1297, 1315 and 1400 are included under the topic Early Tourville History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tourville 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 Tourville 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 Tourville include Turvile, Turville, Tourville, Tourvile, Turvell, Turvill, Turvil and many more.

Early Notables of the Tourville family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William de Turvile, of Weston Turville, Buckinghamshire, High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire in 1288 and later in 1291. Later Nicolas de Trimenel or de Turvile was High Sheriff in 1293. Robert Turvile was a Knights Templar and was Master of the Temple of...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Tourville Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tourville Ranking

In the United States, the name Tourville is the 17,107^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Tourville family

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 Tourville, or a variant listed above: Ann Turvel who landed in North America in 1771.

Contemporary Notables of the name Tourville (post 1700) +

Glen Tourville, retired American soccer player who currently serves as an associate coach on NC State women's soccer team
Anne de Tourville (1910-2004), pen name of Anne Marie Nouel de Tourville de Buzonnière, a 20th-century French woman of letters
Rodolphe Tourville (1867-1935), Canadian politician in the Quebec who served as Member of the Legislative Assembly (1912-1927)
Henri de Tourville (1842-1903), also often referred to as Abbé Henri de Tourville, a French priest who distinguished himself as one of the precursors of sociology and in the fields of philosophy and education
Camille Tourville (1927-1985), Canadian professional wrestler and manager from Montreal, better known by his ring name, Tarzan Tyler
Charles Bertin Gaston Chapuis de Tourville (1740-1809), French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 6

The Tourville Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Virtus semper eadem
Motto Translation: Virtue is always the same.

Citations +

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)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
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
Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, October 23) Charles Tourville. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html