where did this last name originated?

Question

My family told me it was from France but they weren't so sure.

for those that know, or may know, my last name is "Then".

Answer 1

The name then was brought to England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The then family lived in Shropshire. The name, however, is a strange contraction of the phrase of the Inn, resulting from the fact that an early member of the family was the proprietor of such an establishment.

Spelling variations of this family name include: Botfield, Botville, Boteville, Botfeld, Botevile, Thynne, Tyne, Tine, Tynes, O'Tyne, Thinn, O'Thinn, Thin, Then, Them and many more.

First found in Shropshire where they were Lords of the Manor of Church Stretton.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: John and Anton Them who settled in Ohio in 1890; G. Than who saettled in New York in 1849; John Tine, his wife Margaret, and daughter Elizabeth, who settled in the Barbados in 1679.

Answer 2

The challenging thing is that so many names are shortened or spelled differently over time - not to mention changed entirely. But let's assume it's always been Then. Or that the English version of the name is Then. I couldn't find any French Then's. But if you take a translation of the literal meaning of that word, in French it might be have been Puis. or Du Puis. There's a great writeup on Le Beau Nom De Dupuis - the beautiful name of Dupuis - at http://ourworld.cs.com/raymdupuis/thebeautifulname.html But this is speculation on my part.

http://surnames.behindthename.com does not show any Then names

ancestry.com's surname search returned these results:
Then
Hispanic: unexplained.
German: of uncertain origin. From a short form of Antonius (see Anthony) or a humanist form of Ten, perhaps a metonymic occupational name for a mintmaster, from Middle Low German ten(e) ‘blank’ (metal piece from which coins were struck).

traceit.com (linked from myroots.com) says:
The Then family can trace their ancestors back to the ancient territories of England between the 11th and 12th centuries.
The Then family traces their ancestral roots back to Norman origin, and first appeared in ancient medieval records in Shropshire . That from very early on the Then family not only held lands and estates in England but were also actively allied with other influential families. They also branched out into other territories and holdings, before taking the long voyage to the new world.

freesurnamesearch.com gives no matches.

Answer 3

I would guess that your name came from the British term, THANE, which meant a person whose alleigance was owned by the Liege Lord. A lord had many thanes who supported him with their labor and agriculture, and he in turn supported them with his power and armed strength.
A thane was a freeman usually granted some land because of his service to the lord.
You say your heritage is French but the French and English intermingled so much during the middle centuries that I still stand by my position.
What do you think? Love you,Sammy

Answer 4

wow. Then, that is odd no offense. i'm not sure, it'll help to know how to pronounce it. because some countries have different prounouciations, and that helps to figuire out where a name originates. i think its some where from the european countries.