This locational name has a long and complicated history. It originally derived from the Scottish village of Tannock or Tannochill in Lanark, a well known mining area, and gravitated south into England, being principally found in 18th Century Durham, but with at least one probable recording as early as 1644 in Cornwall, when William Tyneicke was born on February 7th at Mevagissey. The name development follows a dialectal path, being originally Tannochill (Glasgow, 1614), or Tannoch (Glasgow, 1676), to Tennick, Tonnick, Tenick and Tenwick in County Durham from the early 18th Century. The origination of the name is probably Old British, and may derive from "tang" meaning "fork" (of a river), and "ock", a place. Early recordings include: Thomas Tinwick, of Bolton on Swale, Yorkshire, on December 13th 1744, and Robert Tenwick, of Gainford, Durham, who married Ann Robinson of the same parish on June 1st 1747, in the reign of George 11, 1727 - 1760. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Tennick, which was dated April 20th 1710, marriage to Eleanor Clarke, at Bishopwearmouth, Durham, during the reign of Queen Anne, known as "The Last Stuart Monarch", 1702 - 1714. 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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