Tarin

Etymology

The historical note most directly connected with this surname points to French and Occitan word-formation around Tar-, with Tarin described as a derivative of Tar and also as the name of a linnet in regional French usage. The same source adds that tarin could also refer to an old southern coin, so the surname may in some cases have begun as a nickname or a local descriptive term rather than a straightforward occupational name. Because the evidence is brief and old, the exact origin of any one family line remains uncertain.

History

Tarin is found as a surname in French-speaking areas, and the form also appears in variants such as Tarillon and Taris/Tarisse in older surname collections. The name likely spread through regional French and Occitan communities before appearing in wider francophone and later immigrant records. The nineteenth-century source is suggestive rather than definitive, so different families may have unrelated origins.

Origin

Regions

Variant spellings

Fun fact

An old French note says tarin could mean not only a family name but also a linnet and a historic southern coin.

Related surnames