From Where Does The Surname Originate? ^{meaning and history}

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The Dutch Tanis came from the Thames valley to Ouddorp.

The library of the city Avranches in the western part of Normandy gives the following information about the Tanis line in the form of an extract from Avranchin Monumental et Historique, written by the historian Eduard le Hericher (Avranches 1846).

Although (the village) Tanismust have been the birthplace of one of William the Conqueror's warriors, in the list of the Abbey (Mont St. Michel?) concerning the Battle (of Hastings?) he is refered to as Tanny.

These noble lords of Tanis must have been reknowned in Normandy and England but from their castle there remains hardly a trace. Mr. de Gerville has personally searched in vain for its location.

One of the lords of the house (village) of Tanis, Robert, was in the service of William de Conqueror. His name and those of his descendants are found in England up to the middle of the fourteenth century.

In Normandy I have not been able to find anything on this family nor of ths site of construction of their castle, although I have made a point of visiting the village Tanis.

In its heraldry Tanis displayed six small sable (black) eagles on a background of silver. This information was gleaned from Châteaux du Departement de La Manche.

In any case one can assume that the location of castle Tanis was on a site in the heather plain where fragments of ruins were found, and among other things a piece from a sword or sabre, a flattened vase, and a type of water flask residing with the local pastor.

In our research we have also met some lords of Tanis:

• In the Régistres del'Echiquier (High Court in Engeland and Old-Normandie) for the year 1170,, one can read: "De catologio Joh. de Taniesfugacis pro Sansone de Tanies".
• In these same registers for the year 1195, one finds the following reference: "Ric. Silvanus r. cp. de xl. so. quos recep. de trâ. Rad. de Tanies. (M. Stapelton, t. ler, p.217).
• -For the year 1198: "Rog. de Fontibus r. cp. de Vvij li. de terrâ Eudon. de Tanie" (Ibid. T. II, p.291. Those Taneio vormen one family, apart from de Taneia or de Tanie)
• and for the year 1195: "R. Silvani r. cp. de 40. solde terrâ Eudonis de Tanies" (M. D. Anisy, p.67).
• Eudo de Tania is mentioned as a witness in the church archives of Mont St-Michel.
• Turgis de Tanis et Carpentier, his vassal drew in the twelfth century "The Manifest of the Cross".
• Jean de Tanis, is mentioned on the list of the dead of the Abbey in the fourteenth century.

It is probable that the Tanis properties were absorbed into the Royal Domain, as in the following century. 1463 to be precise, Louis XI awarded the Manor Tanis to Mont St-Michel.

The castle Tanye, in the district of the bishopry Lisieux (situated ca 35 km south of Le Hâvre) was mentioned in a manifest of Hendrik V: Dedimus vobis potestatum ad brigantes in nostro castro de Tanya existentes ex nunc capiendi par colla sua suspendi faciendo. (M. d'Anisy, p.246, Rôles de lÉchiquier).

The existence of two Tanis lines in Normandie makes it impossible to determine with certainty the individuals and castles carrying this name.

The etymological origins of Tanis are rather uncertain.

We believe we have to look at the Saxon language and one of the many words the Saxons have left us with.

Their nobel lords carried, as we know, the title of "thanes", The names (titles) Taini, Tegni, Teini and Teinni are rife in the "Domesday" book. We theorize that the Thanie or barony (the jurisdiction of a baron), was where they lived.

Remarkable is the feminine form for a diocese which occurrs in its appelations, in Latin as well as Franch. This goes back to Cassini, who still wrote it as Tanie.

In our opinion it is the same etomology that gave rise to Tanu, Tunaville, Tunaville, the before mentioned Tanis, to Tanis from the bishopry Bayeux (in the same general region), and Than (famous for its abbey).

One knew the city Thann in the Elzas, and the island Tanet in Kent, what the Saxons called Tanes or Tanesland, the region of Than. Tanfield has the same origin.

Although the title "thane" was eventually replaced by "baron", it was still used until the end of the reign of William the Conqueror.

The Domesday, refers to people of note qualified with the title "thane", such as Lanfranc, Robert dÓilgy, Huges de Bolbec and Hugues dÁvranches.

Domesday Book

This is the book commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, that contains the oldest treatises on English property law.

It lists the owner, size and value of property and the inventory of the property for almost all counties of England.

The name occurred or occurs also in Poland and Turkey, and there is a site in Egypt (where a lot of anthropological digs were made) that carries the name Tanis (this place is also mentioned in the Bible). It was the capital of the fourteenth district of "Lower Egypt" and one of the oldest cities in the world. (in Egyption called Zani, and in Hebrew called Zoan).

There are references to Zoan in Numbers 13, verse 23 and Paul 27, verses 12 and 43.

At present it has been reduced to a poor little town called San el Hagar.