View Message

[Facts] meaning of Talmadge
What is the meaning and derivation of Talmadge?
vote up1vote down

Replies

A quick look-up in *A Dictionary of Surnames* (Hanks & Hodges) finds the name "Talmadge" under the entry for "Tollemache". The definition given is:Tollemache: English : apparently a metonymic occupational name for an itinerant merchant, from Old French "talemasche" knapsack (of uncertain origin.Variations: Tallemach, Tallamach, Talma(d)ge, Tammage. (The form "Talmadge" has also been used as an Anglicized form of one or more like-sounding Jewish surnames.)
vote up1vote down
I've a friend who has Talmage as a first name, so either there was a twisted sense of humour involved, or it is also a first name.
If you're wondering why a twisted sense of humor it won't be the first time a Jewish kid has been given something like Meyer Meyer, or a couple of other real examples I know.
vote up1vote down