There are two possible sources of this interesting Irish name, Tully being an Anglicization of either of them. The first possibility is the Gaelic "O'Taithlagh", meaning descendant of "Taithleach", a byname meaning quiet and peaceable. Alternatively, Tully may originate in the Gaelic "O'Maoc Tuile", which means "the descendant of the devotee of (St.) Tuile", a personal name derived from "toil", meaning "will (of God)". Traditionally, Irish family names are taken from the heads of tribes, or from some illustrious warrior, and are usually prefixed by "O", meaning grandson or male descendant of, or "Mac", denoting "son of". There seems to be some confusion as to where in Ireland the name Tully originates because it is not known which Gaelic name the Anglicized forms, Tully, Tally, Tilly and Talty derive from, but generally it is thought to be a County Clare name, with Tully being prevalent in County Galway. There may also be a branch of the family who hail from Counties Tyrone and Fermanagh. Among the recordings from London Church Registers is Ann Tully, who married John Woodtoe on November 5th 1674, and in Ireland, Margaret Tully married Henry Adnott on April 6th 1756, at Clones, County Monaghan. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Anna Tully, which was dated December 7th 1649, christened at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster, London, during the reign of King James 1 of Scotland and Ireland, 1603 - 1625. 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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