Tuite - Name

This interesting name has two possible origins. The first being a Hiberno-Norman name from a place in Normandy called Tuite or Tiuit introduced into Ireland at the time of Strongbow's invasion (1170). The decease of the first namebearer (see below) is recorded in 1211 in the Ancient Irish Annals. The name now, as formerly, is mainly confined to Leinster. Church registers provide several instances of the name. The christening of William, son of William and Elizabeth Tuite is recorded in Inch by Gorey, County Wexford on May 28th 1801 and Alice Tuite was christened in Dublin on May 31st 1803. A second distinct possibility is that the name is an anglicised form of the Gaelic "Mac Confhiaclaigh" translating as "son (mac) of the large-toothed hound (confhiaclaigh)!" the name is also anglicised as Tooth. Other recordings in England include James Tueitt, christened at St. Botolphs without Aldergate, London, on July 23rd 1676, and Simon Tuite who married Mary Lightholder on February 22nd 1764 at the famous church of St. Martins in the Field, Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Sir Richard de Tuite, or de Tiuit, which was dated 1170, a soldier in Strongbow's army at the 1170 Invasion of Ireland, during the reign of Rory O'Connor, High King of Ireland, 1166 - 1198. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.