My Grandfather's name was Tunis, he has passed away, but I always wondered where the name came from and nobody in the family knows. He was Scottich decent so his family was not from the country Tunis. Has anyone else heard of this name and it's orgin?
2007-03-23 05:41:29 · 6 answers · asked by shawnie 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Genealogy
Tunis is considered an Italian surname. So even though your grandfather was of Scottish decent, it's very probable that someone along the way that married an Italian or Italian descendant, and introduced the name into the family.
It could also have been a name introduced in the Scottish lines during the Roman empires conquest of Great Britain.
Then there's the fact that the name could have been changed over the years. Many people before the 20th century couldn't spell. So it was very common for the spelling of surnames to change from one generation to the next. Or for siblings to spell their last name differently.
Your best bet is going to be start doing genealogy. Trace your grandfather's line back one person at a time. Then you'll be able to see if someone named Tunis married into the Scottish line, or if the name changed spelling over time.
2007-03-23 05:54:22 · answer #1 · answered by Raising6Ducklings! 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Tunis may have been shortened from a longer name during immigration or spelled differently for some reason. Some people just changed their names when they moved for no known reason. I'd look at Scottish as well as English surnames to see if any match Tunis phonetically in any part. Keeping in mind that pronunciations may have changed. I'm thinking Toones, McToones, McTooney, Tooney, Tonnes, Tewnes, Tewness. Also look at names of towns to see if there are any that match up somehow with Tunis. If at all possible try to find out when his family came over and where they came in and locate their records - you may be able to get a town or county of origin from that.
2007-03-23 06:09:22 · answer #2 · answered by Susan G 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Tunis capital of Tunisia, on a shallow lake near the Gulf of Tunis.
Population: 1,897,000
says
Tunis means BNA Original
hope that helps
2007-03-23 05:54:55 · answer #3 · answered by hustler.connection 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Tunis isn't an Italian surname as suggested by your best answer. It doesn't exist in Italy.
2016-11-20 04:37:06 · answer #4 · answered by Giuly 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lot of Italians immigrated to Scotland in the 19th Century. There are resources at rootschat.com that could be very useful to you.
2007-03-23 17:36:55 · answer #5 · answered by Stephen 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a given name it was often interchangeable with Dennis, but you seem to be asking about a surname. As a surname I've also seen Teunis, German?
2007-03-23 07:09:49 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋