This unusual and interesting name is of Norman origin, and derives from the popular Norman personal name "T(h)erry", which, in Old French, was "Thiern". The personal name was introduced into England by followers of William the Conqueror after the Norman Invasion of 1066, and was recorded in 1114 as "Teorri", and in 1166 as "Terri". The original source of the name is Germanic; the Normans adapted the Old German male given name "Theudonic", which is composed of the elements "theudo", people, race, and "ric", power. Theodonic was the name of the Ostrogothic leader (circa 454 - 526) who invaded Haly in 488, and made his capital at Ravenna. The surname was first recorded in the late 12th Century (see below), and other early recordings include: John Terry, in the 1221 Assize Court Rolls of Warwickshire; Thomas Therry, in the 1243 Assize Court Rolls of Somerset; and Alice Tedrich, in the 1276 Hundred Rolls of Berkshire. The modern surname can be found in a variety of forms, ranging from Terry, Tarry, Torry, Terrey and Torrey, to Torrie, and the patronymic, Toris. Recordings from London Church Registers include the marriage of Edmond Tarry and Agnes Saunders at St. Mary's at Hill, on January 7th 1564. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ralph Teri, which was dated 1199, in the "Register of the Freemen of the City of Leicester", during the reign of Richard 1, known as "The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. 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.

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